Collision Course
by MaxFic
Summary: Harry is raised in Konoha with his Cousin Naruto, how different will things be when Harry and Naruto end up in Hogwarts together. HarryGinny NarutoHinata: On Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"Ah, coffee," said a young man with a grin of thanks for the very awakening beverage.

A tapping at his window drew his attention away from his favorite morning beverage much to his annoyance, "Why does bloody mail have to come so early in the morning?" He went to window and opened it allowing not an owl but a very large eagle admittance. Right away the eagle held out its leg for him to take the bird's message, 'Lily Potter' was crawled neatly above the wax seal.

"Lily, letter for you," called James.

"I'm coming," she called back before she waddled into the kitchen. She was very pregnant and was expected to pop any day now. "Tenshi," she cooed as soon as she saw the eagle.

"You know this bird?" asked James.

"He the long distance messenger bird my cousin always uses," said Lily, "Give me the letter already."

James started to hand the letter over when she simply tore it from his grasp and undid the wax seal. Despite James' surprise at his wife's over eagerness he chose to ask, "I didn't know you had a cousin?"

"We don't talk often but he's my favorite bit of blood relation I have. If anything were to ever to happen to us and Sirius wasn't able, I would like little Rose to be raise by him," said Lily rubbing her stomach.

"I doubt anything would happen to Sirius, but I would rather _Harry_ be raised by your cousin than your sister any day of the week," said James.

Lily chose to ignore James and instead focused in on the letter, "Oh this is wonderful, he's fallen in love."

"Congratulations to him then," said James, "What's this cousin of yours name anyway?"

"Arashi," said Lily.

"Why haven't you ever mentioned him before? For that matter why wasn't he at our wedding?" James asked slightly perturbed.

"He's the leader of his village," said Lily.

"Village?" asked James curious.

"You're not going to just let me read this letter, are you?" asked Lily setting it down.

"Not really, no," said James with a grin.

"Fine, I'll tell you the story," said Lily with a sigh. "My aunt, rest her sole, was very adventurous in her youth. When she was about eighteen she started to traipse about the world trying to see and do everything possible. Well, during her travels she fell in love with a man, he was half-Asian half-American. Anyway, when I was maybe thirteen, my Aunt, my Uncle and my Cousin finally came to visit us. That is one week that I will never forget."

"What happened?"

"Well, I remember having to hide every last bit of magical paraphernalia I had before they came. The idea was to slowly break it to my aunt and her family over the course of the week. However, on the day they arrived I met Arashi for all of about a minute when he started yelling at his mother and father that it was a trap of some sort and that I was trained. My uncle looked panicked for only a moment before my Aunt broke into a giant ear to ear smile. 'Lily's a witch isn't she?' Well, as you know my mother is not magical. In fact, she knew nothing of magic until I received my letter. So imagine my mother's surprise when my Aunt suddenly knew. Anyway, my uncle smacked Arashi upside the head for overreacting and we all had a good laugh about it. Apparently, my Aunt was a witch and attended Hogwarts, but my grandparents kept it secret from my mum. The idea was that if my mum ever got a letter they would tell her about it, but she never did. As a result they just, said my aunt won a scholarship to a very good school."

"I bet Petunia didn't react very well to that," said James with a grin.

"Not at all," said Lily with a silly grin, "Anyway, Arashi and I were thick as thieves that week and we've tried to keep in touch as much as possible."

"So what's all this about his village?"

"Well, you know there are several enclaves where wizards have completely cut themselves off from all outside contact? That they live in harmony with the muggles around them right?" asked Lily to which James nodded, "Well, he lives in one of the oldest that has developed completely away from almost all contact with the outside world. In fact, it's so large that there are actually several countries and villages and towns. It's really quite amazing, or so he has told me. Anyway, he is the leader of a village called Konohagakura."

"Where is this place that there are several countries?"

"Antarctica, quite powerful magic protects that place. Most people only see ice and snow and any one who travels along it gets caught in an illusion that makes them think they are actually going somewhere but are really just walking in circles."

James snickered at that, "I might have to try that trick."

"Oh, you would love Arashi, he was such a prankster when he came to visit. I don't know what magic he used or how he did it but poor Petunia had to be medicated for her nerves by the time he left," said Lily wiping away a tear of laughter.

"We have got to visit him once _Harry_ is born," said James.

"I have asked several times if I could visit but he's said that it isn't really a good idea," said Lily, "The village, the whole continent for that matter, don't take well to any outsiders stepping foot there."

"Then he'll have to come visit us," said James.

"Do you really think that's safe with everything that is going on?" asked Lily.

James seemed to get serious for a moment, "Well, then once this whole mess is cleared up we'll be sure to have him visit, it's not Voldemort is immortal. He's going to slip up and when he does . . ."

"I hope so James," said Lily soberly before she smiled, "For _Rose's_ sake."

James laughed and kissed his wife before she went back to the letter and James to his coffee.

**BREAK**

"James, Lily, I will leave it to the both of you to select your secret keeper and perform the spell," said Albus Dumbledore before he stood to leave.

"No need to think about it, it'll be Sirius," said James adamantly all the while knowing that they had something different planned.

"I understand," said Dumbledore, "Well, then I will be sure to check on you in a few days, oh, and Happy Halloween."

"That's not until tomorrow," said Lily, "But thanks."

"Albus, before you go, there is something we wanted to talk to you about," said James.

"Oh, and what's that?" asked Albus.

"If anything were to happen to Lily and me," began James.

"Promise us," said Lily adding force to the request.

"Don't send Harry to live with Petunia, let him stay with Sirius," said James.

"And if something happens that prevents him from staying with Sirius, I want to go live with my cousin Arashi," said Lily, "Arashi is our age and he's about to have his first child. I know that Arashi will take good care of Harry."

"And where can I find this young man?" asked Albus knowing that he wouldn't like the answer he was about to get.

"He is the Hokage of Konohagakura, one of the villages of the Antarctica enclave," said Lily.

"I will do my best," said Albus not liking the request and planning to do otherwise if anything were to happen.

"No, promise me, I want your wizard's oath that if anything happens to us and Sirius isn't able to care for Harry that you will send him to be with my cousin," said Lily with a great passion.

Albus sighed, "I don't approve but I give you my wizard's oath that if anything happens, I will send Harry to his cousin until he is old enough to attend Hogwarts."

"Thank you Albus," said Lily. It was very evident just how grateful she was by the look in her vibrant green eyes.

Albus just nodded before he apparated away.

"Lily, that was a bit strong don't you think?" asked James holding his obviously very worried wife.

"Maybe, but I can't help this very bad feeling I've been getting," said Lily.

"Everything will work out in the end," said James kissing his wife.

**BREAK**

"Albus, you can't seriously be thinking of leaving him here?" asked a very perturbed Minerva McGonagall.

"He will be safe here with his Aunt and Uncle," said Dumbledore with every intention of leaving the child on the step before him. Dumbledore turned to walk away but as he took a step there was a horrible pain shooting through his entire body that brought him to his knees.

"Albus," Minerva nearly shouted seeing her long time friend collapse in pain.

"Damn," said Albus as he tried to walk further away only to be jerked back as if attached to some sort of rip cord.

"Albus, what's happening? What's wrong?"

"I can't . . ." said Albus panting, "I can't leave the boy here. Damn that foolish wizard's oath. I should never have made it."

"What oath? What are you talking about?"

"I made and oath to Lily and James, that if anything ever happened to them and Sirius could not care for Harry that I would send him to Lily's cousin. I thought that because I worded it just so and because Harry has a cousin here that I could get around it but it seems I have no choice in the matter," explained Albus cryptically.

"What cousin?" asked Minerva.

"Lily has another cousin, he lives in the Antarctica enclave," said Albus.

"Albus, there are not but murderers and thieves in that place, you mustn't take the boy there. It'll surely mean death," said Minerva in an uproar.

"I know," said Albus a bit more forcefully than he intended. "However, I must see to this or risk my own death before I have a chance to teach the boy anything."

"He will grow up to be just like there kind, you can't do this," said Minerva trying to make Albus see the light of day.

Albus though actually chuckled, "I was afraid this may happen so I checked into it. The village Lily wanted Harry sent to was actually pretty decent. They are still like others of that nation but they are also one of the more peaceful villages. If nothing else, he will grow up learning to protect himself and being fiercely protected as well."

"I simply can't agree to this nor stand by and watch you do this so I will leave you here and hope that you come to your senses," said Minerva before she stalked away from the porch and unlit street.

"Well Harry, it seems we have another destination," said Albus recollecting the babe from the step.

**BREAK**

Albus arrived before a village that looked to be falling apart at the seems. The large gate that stood before him was barely holding up and there was a very strong stench of blood in the air. Things did not bode well at all.

"Halt, who goes there?" asked a man as he appeared without noise before the elderly man.

"I am Albus Dumbledore, I am from the mainland. I have come to speak with the Hokage."

"You will have to hold here. It might take a while to find him," said the another man from behind him. It was then the man before him vanished.

Albus turned slowly to see the other man. He had a few rather unpleasant looking cuts and gashes in his clothing. "Might I ask, what has happened here?"

"Kyubi," said the man in near whisper while his eyes filled with dread.

"The demon," said Albus in an equal whisper of awe. One of the reason that the Antarctica enclave was avoid by most if not all wizards was because of the demons that still freely roamed the land, the most feared of which was the Kyubi no Kitsune.

"He attacked three days ago," said the guard, his eyes clearly reliving the event. "Only last night was the demon finally defeated. Yondaime-sama faced the monster from atop Gamabunta and sealed it away."

"Sealed?" asked Albus knowing how great a toll it must have been to do so.

"He gave his life to seal away the demon into a newborn child. But, Sandaime-sama refused to destroy the sealed demon-child now. The threat is still there but he won't see reason," said the addled guard.

"I see, then Arashi is dead," said Albus gleaning the information he needed. If that was the case the oath magic should have broken by now and he would be free to place the child where he felt him to be safe.

Suddenly the guard dropped to one knee, "Hokage-sama."

Albus turned back towards the gate to see a man his own age, maybe slightly younger holding his own buddle of cloth in his arms.

"How may I help you sir?" asked the Hokage.

"I am Albus Dumbledore, I have come from the mainland looking for Arashi, but alas, I have just heard of the tragedy which has befallen you," said Albus.

"I am Sarutobi, please come in and speak with me. Perhaps we could provide you some milk for the baby," said the Hokage politely.

Albus nodded. It was very rare that anyone in this land showed such kindness, especially to an outsider such as himself. It was a rare chance to see how these people really lived and worked day in and day out.

"I am sorry for the mess, but as I'm sure you heard, we've had something of a natural disaster recently," said Sarutobi as he guided Albus up the street to the largest building in the village.

Once inside the office Sarutobi placed the babe in his arms in a playpen across from his desk. Albus didn't see the harm in allowing Harry to join the other babe.

"Please sit, can I offer you anything to drink?" asked the Hokage, "Perhaps a lemon drop, they are very hard to come by here but I do so enjoy them."

Albus smiled, this was a man after his own heart, "Thank you, I rather enjoy these myself."

"So tell me, what brings you here seeking Arashi? Has something happened to his cousin? He frequently spoke of her and of how worried she'd been recently. I can only assume you are here as a result," said Sarutobi.

"I am indeed. Sadly, Lily and James Potter were both murdered last night," said Albus grimly.

"I see, I most sorry to hear that. For them to die on the same evening that Arashi gave his own life," said Sarutobi sadly and just barely glancing at the crib.

"Is that the boy that was used to seal away the Kyubi?" asked Albus out of curiosity only.

Sarutobi nodded, "Arashi wanted that boy to be seen as a hero, but the pain is so fresh in the people's minds that they only see the demon and not the child. It is a sad affair indeed.

"I see," said Albus.

"What of the child with you? Is he Arashi's baby cousin that he was showing off pictures of to me for the last year?" asked Sarutobi with a chuckle.

"His name is Harry," said Albus.

"I see, then you intended to leave him in the care of Arashi and his wife?"

"I did, but with Arashi gone, the blood protection I intended to use will not work. But all is not lost. Lily has a sister, I can place the boy with them," said Albus, "I mean no offense to you, but I feel he will be much safer there. I only brought the child here because I swore an oath to Lily that I would leave Harry with her cousin."

"I take no offense at all," said Sarutobi, "I completely understand your situation, however, now that I know all the circumstances, I cannot allow you to take the boy from this village."

"I beg your pardon," said Albus not liking in the slightest where this was going.

"I don't believe your magic will allow you to take him either if you have sworn an oath to leave Harry with his cousin. For you see, he is currently sleeping next to his cousin," said Sarutobi.

"You mean," said Albus looking back at the sleeping children.

"Indeed," said Sarutobi.

"Where is Arashi's wife then?"

"She died during child birth," said Sarutobi.

"My word," said Albus, "Then they are both the only family they have."

"I cannot in good conscience allow you to take Harry away from Naruto," said Sarutobi, "Arashi has given so much and lost everything so that his son would live. Naruto has nothing left in this world and I will not let you take that only family he has away from him."

Albus didn't like this at all. He was cornered. He had no choice but to leave the boy here. He fulfilled the oath without even knowing it and now he had to abide by it. "I understand, but understand this. Harry will come to Hogwarts to learn our magic when he turns eleven."

"I will not prevent that from happening. I would not deny Harry the chance to learn about his parents magic or the world they lived in. However, I expect Harry to return here every summer for training and testing," said Sarutobi.

"You intend to train him to be one of you then?" asked Albus a bit offensively.

"His parents were murdered, I will do what is necessary to see to it he remains, alive and healthy and if I can, I will give him the _skills_ to take his revenge when the time comes," said Sarutobi making a subtle attack on the ability of wizard magic's potency.

"So be it, but if you twist him into an unnatural killing machine I will hunt you down and take my own revenge," said Albus hotly before he disappeared with an angry pop.

Sarutobi smiled, he liked Albus a lot. He then looked to the two babes, who were now snuggling with each other sleeping peacefully. These two would be most interesting to watch as they grow.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"Naruto, Harry!" yelled one very irate teacher who was now covered head to toe in pink paint.

"I love the first day of school," said Naruto to his still laughing cousin. Naruto and Harry were now six and seven respectively, both were just starting into their second year in the academy. And because the pair was so close, Sarutobi allowed for Naruto to enter the academy a year early so he could stay with Harry. It also made it easier for Sarutobi to keep an eye on Naruto and make sure that he was protected.

Naruto always received the dark glares from the villagers, but then Harry got his share of the glares just because he was related to Naruto and because he was an outsider. Of course the third made is a law to never speak of either Harry or Naruto's past. As a result none of the kids their age knew that Naruto held the Demon Fox within him or that Harry was an outsider.

Due to the situation, Naruto and Harry were always starved for attention and as a result turned to playing pranks and other such mischief as they could get into.

"But sensei," said Harry still laughing, "Pink really is your color."

That caused Naruto and the other students to laugh.

"You're staying after class," said Iruka angrily before he turned to the lesson.

Naruto and Harry mostly tuned the lesson out taking the occasional note so they didn't get into trouble for not paying attention. They hated lectures and much preferred to actually do things instead of read about them. Finally the day's lessons ended and Harry and Naruto were set off their leashes.

"Harry, Naruto, where do you think you're going?" asked an angry Iruka who was now blocking their escape route.

"Um home," said Naruto with a smile.

"Wrong!" shouted Iruka, "You two are going to wash the chalkboards and stack all the chairs before you go anywhere. Now get to work, I'll be back in a few minutes." With that Iruka left the room.

"Man, why is he always on our cases?" asked Harry unhappily as he started stacking the chairs on top of the tables.

"The pink really was an improvement," said Naruto as he filled a bucket with water and soap to wash the chalkboards. By now, this punishment had become so routine with the pair.

Naruto was clumsily washing the chalkboard behind Iruka's desk when he bumped Iruka's chair. "Stupid chair," said Naruto kicking it only to hurt his foot. The chair rolled into the desk hard causing the papers on it to go everywhere. "Oh man." Naruto grumbled while Harry laughed as Naruto started picking up all the papers.

Naruto picked up most of them when he checked under the desk for a few more. He got all but one and had to lie on his stomach to reach it. As he stretched his small body to the limit to reach it he felt something else attached to the bottom of the desk.

"Huh?" question Naruto getting the attention of his cousin who was enjoying watching his cousin struggle. "There something attached to the desk?"

Harry jumped up, "What is it?"

"I don't know, let me get it loose," said Naruto tugging at whatever was stuck there. When Naruto finally got it loose he pulled his arm free to reveal a rather large scroll.

"It's a scroll, what's the big deal?" asked Harry disappointed.

"The Kazama Scroll of Prank Jutsu," read Naruto from just above the seal on it.

Harry's disappointment instantly vanished, "Really?"

"Says it right here," said Naruto pointing it out on the scroll.

The door began to shake signaling that Iruka was returning.

Naruto and Harry hid the scroll inside one of their bags even though it did look a bit out of place.

Iruka inspected the room, "Alright, you two can go now."

Naruto and Harry grabbed their bags and bolted as fast as their small bodies could carry them.

They returned to their apartments in a few moments later . . . well, they had to stop for some ramen first.

As soon as they entered the apartment the cleared as much floor space as possible to roll out the scroll.

"Alright, let's see this thing," said Naruto rubbing his hands together.

Harry started trying to open it but it wouldn't budge, "It won't open."

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto as he shoved Harry out of the way, "Arg, it won't budge."

Harry seemed considerate for a moment, "Blood, maybe it's got one of those blood seal thingies Iruka-sensei was talking about last week?"

Naruto bit into his thumb to draw a bit of blood which he quickly smeared on the seal causing it to release, "Ha-ha, it worked."

"Of course it worked," said Harry, "Now hurry up and open it."

Naruto rolled it out as far as he could but from one end of the apartment it still left a lot of scroll still to be unrolled. Naruto looked at the first lines to see a message.

'_To the heir of Kazama Clan whose blood has unsealed this scroll, our great heritage, as pranksters. In case there is doubt in your mind, this scroll could not be opened unless you are of the Kazama blood line. Now, onto the important stuff. Laid out in this scroll is every last trick of the consummate prankster, may it serve you well.'_

"I'm a Kazama?" asked Naruto.

"That's what it says," said Harry, "That means we are both Kazama then as cousins."

"Sweet, we have a proper clan," said Naruto jumping for joy.

"But, I've never heard of the Kazama clan, have you?"

"Well, no but . . ."

"Maybe we're the last of them?"

"Maybe," said Naruto, "Hey, let's see if this works for you too." Naruto quickly rolled up the scroll again. The seal instantly reformed.

Harry bit into his finger and smeared the blood on the scroll but it didn't budge open, "It's not working."

Naruto worried and tried it again with his blood and it opened instantly.

"I'm not Kazama," said Harry nearly in tears.

"Yes you are," said Naruto loudly, "If not in direct blood then through me you are."

"Maybe we're not related at all," said Harry afraid of losing his only family.

"Yes we are, we're going to ask the old man about this right now," said Naruto grabbing the scroll and Harry's hand and running out of the apartment and through town.

They burst into the Hokage's office to find him reading a little orange book and blushing some.

"Oi, ojisan," yelled Naruto followed closely by the two ANBU guards.

The Hokage quickly hid the book though his blush wouldn't go anywhere, "Hello Naruto-kun, Harry-kun, what can I do for you?" He waved away the ANBU who closed and sealed the door.

"You tell us the truth. You tell us that we are really cousins right now. No lying, we're cousins right?" Naruto was nearly in tears as was Harry.

"Yes Naruto-kun, you are really cousins," said the old man.

"See, I told you," said Naruto to Harry.

"But what about the scroll?" asked Harry hotly his tears not stopping.

The Hokage raised an eyebrow, "What scroll would that be?"

"This one, we figured out that it had a blood seal on it," said Naruto, "But only my blood works. Inside it says that only the Kazama clan could open it and Harry can't but I can."

The Hokage chuckled, "That's because Harry is not of the Kazama clan."

"Huh?" asked the duo at the same time.

"Your grandmother and Harry's grandmother were sisters," said the Hokage, "And neither of them were part of the Kazama clan. Naruto's grandmother married into the Kazama clan."

"Oh, but we're still family right?"

"Of course," said the Hokage allaying their fears. "Now Naruto, now that you know you are from the Kazama clan I have to insist that you never tell anyone. Your family had many enemies and if they were to find out about you then you would be in grave danger."

"Is that why I'm Uzumaki Naruto and not Kazama Naruto?"

Sarutobi smiled warmly, "You understand perfectly, but remember, this secret is more important than you can ever imagine. You must never tell anyone."

Naruto nodded in understanding, "Okay ojisan."

"Harry, are you okay?"

Harry reluctantly nodded.

"Good, then you boys go home and have fun learning some of the things on that scroll," said the Hokage recognizing Arashi's old scroll that he used to drag everywhere with him in his youth.

"But I can't learn the scroll," said Harry sadly, "I'm not Kazama."

"Harry, you may not be able to learn everything on that scroll, but I think you'll find that you can learn almost everything on there," said the old man with a smile, "Some of those were meant only for Naruto. I think in time you'll find that there is something meant only for you that Naruto can't learn."

Harry nodded though still a bit reserved.

"Let's go home and get to work then," shouted Naruto grabbing Harry's hand and racing back out again.

"Kami help us all," mumbled Sarutobi as he thought back on some of the things that Arashi had gotten away with in the past thanks to that scroll.

Naruto and Harry returned home a little while later and unrolled the scroll once again.

_'Pranks are an art form. They take great passion, cunning, and skill to accomplish successfully. If you are lacking any of these then there is little that you will ever achieve. While skill can be taught, cunning and passion cannot. Keep these facts in mind throughout your ultimate prank playing education._

_'Throughout the history of pranks there have been all different levels put into play, the highest levels of which only a ninja can achieve. As you read through, you will find numerous skills and examples of how they can be applied to a prank._

_'Lesson One – The set up'_

_'The majority of all pranks rely upon the element of surprise and on setting the trap in advance. As trap setting is essential to being a good ninja so it is with pranks.'_

From there it went through so many examples of traps and how to set them up. It went into details about setting trip wires and using smaller traps to push an opponent towards a bigger trap that is far funnier. It talked about incendiary traps to burn of embarrassing clothing articles to causing mass confusion through smoke. It even talked about creating a false sense of security. Naruto and Harry had never been the studious type but the way this scroll laid everything out made their minds work like mad trying to absorb every last detail of the traps section. If someone were to have been watching them with a crystal ball he would have seen two little boys so completely engrossed in studying a scroll he would never have known that Konoha would be changed forever by the prank ideas created by that simple little scroll.

The next morning Naruto and Harry were up early and out the door in search of supplies. They had a monster of a prank to pull of on the Hokage and nothing was going to stop them.

"Paint?"

"Check."

"String?"

"Check."

"Flour?"

"Check."

"Itching Powder?"

"Check."

"Balloons?"

"Check."

"Pins?"

"Check."

"Smoke bombs?"

"Check."

"Feathers?"

"Check."

"Two Buckets?"

"Check."

"And last but not least, glue?"

"Check," shouted Naruto as he looked through the duffle back of supplies.

"Let's do this," said Harry with a matching grin.

An hour later Naruto and Harry were slinking out the window of the Hokage's office.

Sarutobi arrived to his office as he usually did that morning.

"Hokage-sama, just to warn you, those two were in your office early this morning," said the ANBU stationed outside the door.

"Prank?" asked the Hokage.

"Prank," said the ANBU confirming the Hokage's suspicion.

"Well, it can't be that bad," said the Hokage still not entirely awake and thinking. For if he had been completely awake he would have remembered that Harry and Naruto had located the Kazama Clan scroll of Pranks.

Sarutobi opened his door as usual expecting the prank to be simple and trigger right away but nothing happened. Stepping into the room cautiously he could see a bucket suspended precariously over the door but not falling. "Misfire," he sighed in relief not giving the failed prank a second thought. "Nothing to worry over men, it was dud," he said to the two ANBU standing guard.

He entered the office completely at ease and feeling secure that the trap didn't go off and wouldn't. He would just have one of the ANBU disarm it later.

The Hokage sat down in his nice comfy office chair only to have a small cloud of powder shoot up all around him. He raised a curious eyebrow of concern when suddenly he felt an itch . . . and then another . . . before he knew every surface of his body was itching like mad. Without thinking, just itching, the Hokage turned his chair only to hear several trip cords ping the sound of release lopping several water balloons through the air at him in sequence. He dodged them one by one as he rolled his chair backwards away only to have the chair hit the wall just after the last water balloon. He sighed in relief with out taking into account the silent pour of glue from above that just covered him from head to toe.

Sarutobi stood up angry and covered in sticky glue. He wanted Naruto and Harry's heads on a silver platter for this. He marched straight to the door to his office and with out thinking threw the doors open roughly causing them to bang on either side. Unknown to him he just triggered the bucket over his head to spill its contents . . . feathers.

The ANBU in the hall both turned to look at the Hokage, he was itching himself everywhere and covered in feathers. Not even the two hardened ANBU guards could keep themselves from laughing until they could no longer stand up.

"Naruto, Harry," screamed the Hokage in anger before he re-entered his office and slammed his doors shut again only to release a small flame next to the sprinkler system causing them to go off but only in the Hokage's office.

**BREAK**

Naruto and Harry were both smiling to themselves through out the day in classes. Nothing could faze them at this point in time. If everything went according to plan then the Hokage would be having a very interesting day by now. They knew they would be in trouble for it but that didn't matter as long as it worked according to plan.

"Do you think it worked?"

"I hope so, if it did you think we would've heard something by now," said Naruto.

"But if it did work, I don't think he would want anyone to see him like that," said Harry.

"Hmm, maybe," said Naruto just as the door slammed open to reveal a very funny sight.

Nearly the entire class broke into laughter.

"Naruto, Harry, come with me now," said the Hokage.

Naruto and Harry followed after him smiling the whole time. They only went into the hall though so almost the entire class ran to listen at the door including Iruka.

"Now boys, you did a very bad thing this morning," said the Hokage.

They both smiled at this bothering the old man even more.

"Haven't I been good to you? Why would you do this to me of all people?"

"We wanted to test ourselves. If we could catch the Hokage off-guard with this then we can catch anyone off guard with enough planning," said Harry.

"We understand that probably could have disabled it if you thought we were out to really harm you but we knew you would be lax with us," said Naruto to further their point.

"Besides, how many people do you know that can set up such complex traps anywhere, well at least at our age?" asked Harry.

Sarutobi was flabbergasted, they did that to test themselves and then explained it away as training. "Never play one of these pranks on me again." With that the old man just left.

"I sure am glad there were notes in there about explaining away pranks," said Harry.

"Yeah, or our goose would have been cooked," said Naruto.

"Actually he was a bit soggy from the sprinklers," said Harry laughing hard at his own joke which was soon joined by Naruto.

**BREAK**

Over the course of the next year the pair worked on improving their trap making ability and the skills necessary to create elaborate traps and pranks. They learned to make smoke bombs, explosive tags, different powders and adhesives, and several other goodies all with applications in prank making.

Konoha had never experienced such a wave of pranks. The more they learned the more creative they became with their pranks. No one was left out of them except the Hokage after that first prank. They did start slowly working their way up the food chain: classmates, Genin, villagers, Chuunin, Jounin, ANBU, Hyuga's, council members.

"I'm starting to get board with traps," pouted Naruto.

"I know," said Harry, "Yeah, the results are funny but there is no challenge anymore."

"We need to see what is next on the scroll," said Naruto.

"How much is left?"

"A lot," said Naruto, "We've only finished traps and just started on the stealth portions."

"So, we need to learn more stealth and then what's after that?"

"I don't know," said Naruto with a shrug, "Let's look."

Naruto and Harry both rolled out the scroll once more.

_'Finally bored with Pranks and the basics of Stealth? Time to work on your face to face pranks. These are pranks performed in the plain view of public in which no blame can possibly be passed on to you. Warning: These pranks do backfire on occasion. You must be prepared to either flee or fight. Because you must be prepared to either flee or fight you must never attempt such a prank unless you are skilled with at least one aspect of this. It is highly advised that you learn to flee before you fight._

_'Now I know, Kazama hate to flee but sometimes it is necessary. Fleeing plain and simple sucks, but to prepare for fleeing one must have to strength and endurance to do so. So, if you truly intend to follow the path of the Kazama then you will start running everyday before you do anything for at least an hour and in a month you will increase that time by an hour a day. Other than that you will do as many sit-ups and push-ups as you can. Enjoy and come back in two months.'_

Suddenly the rest of the scroll went blank after that point.

"What the hell happened to the rest of the scroll?" demanded Naruto.

"How the hell should I know?" asked Harry equally miffed.

"Should we really learn to run away?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know, but we should at least try to do what the scroll says," said Harry, "It's never led us wrong before."

"Fine," pouted Naruto, "But I don't have to like it."

And so for the first time in little more than a year the village got some much needed relief from pranks. Naruto and Harry were simply too tired to play any pranks by the end of the day. It just happened that Harry and Naruto's new exercise routine started at the same time the school began to start the physical training aspect of their education, specifically gymnastics to build flexible highly agile bodies.

**BREAK**

"Iruka, tell me, how have Naruto and Harry been doing in classes recently," said Sarutobi to the young Chuunin.

"Well, they like their pranks. Actually, they've been kind of quiet lately," said Iruka as he thought about it.

"But how have they been doing with the lessons?"

"They tend to fall asleep during lessons," said Iruka.

"Then how about the tests?"

"They pass, it seems like they are just being lazy with their answers," said Iruka trying not to sound too harsh to the boys.

"And in practicals?"

"They are nearly at the top of the class in traps and throwing," said Iruka.

"And . . ."

"Their Taijutsu is nearly at the bottom, they never practice," said Iruka.

"How about the recent addition of gymnastics?"

"They are doing well, but they seem tired most of the time," said Iruka.

"I see," said the Hokage turning away from Iruka and looking out over Konoha.

"What is this about Hokage-sama?"

"Someone will be coming in a week to evaluate Harry's progress," said Sarutobi rather severely.

"What do you mean? Another village?"

"No, someone from the mainland," said Sarutobi ignoring Iruka's gasp.

"Why would you allow that?"

"This individual has the right to do so as Harry's protector," said Sarutobi, "You can go."

Iruka was about to protest before he chose to just leave instead, he knew well enough to choose his battles.

Sarutobi lit his pipe, "I do hope you are prepared for this Harry."

One week passed too quickly for Sarutobi's liking. With a single loud pop, it signaled the arrival of his expected guest.

Sarutobi turned and smiled, "Welcome back Albus, how have you been?"

"Oh, you know how old age goes," said Albus, "A bit of bursitis and arthritis, and the usual."

"I know what you mean," said Sarutobi.

"How has Harry been?"

"He has been very well," said Sarutobi, "He gets treated mostly with indifference which is good for an outsider."

"And his relationship to his cousin?"

Sarutobi smiled fondly, "They are the best of friends and fiercely protective of each other. Trust me when I say you don't want to get on their bad side."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"The Kazama clan is known for their pranks, something that Harry and Naruto have fully embraced," said Sarutobi with a bit of a laugh.

Albus actually chuckled as well, "The Potter's are also well known for their pranks."

"You could have warned me," said Sarutobi.

"Is Harry happy here?"

"I think so, yes," said Sarutobi.

"Well, I just wish to see him. I don't intend to interfere or even meet with him. I just want to observe him for a day or two," said Albus calmly.

"Understood," said Sarutobi, "Would like some assistance from some of the Shinobi here?"

"That will not be necessary," said Albus, "My magic is as good here as it is elsewhere."

"Be careful here, you might be able to hide yourself from sight but there those that can smell you or hear you, even your heartbeat," warned Sarutobi, "I don't want you injured as a result."

"I understand," said Albus as he waved his wand and completely changed his appearance to look like a random village shinobi, "If you would just allow me access to their school and where they live I would very much appreciate it."

Sarutobi smiled, even he couldn't see through the illusion, which suggested to him that this was actually a ninjutsu of some manner. "I'll show you to where they live now and then take you to their classroom right after. If you would like, you may come back here early this evening and observe them with me?"

"Thank you, that would be generous of you," said Dumbledore following Sarutobi out of the building and through the town. He was surprised at how normal most of these people seemed. They put up their laundry on lines between the houses, they shopped for groceries and clothes, and they played with their children.

Albus was a bit disappointed by the site of their apartment building, it was slightly run down rather dirty.

"It's not much, but it is free for the kids. The owner is an old friend of mine so he looks in on the boys occasionally to make sure the apartment is in good condition and he lets me know when they need something," said Sarutobi as he guided Dumbledore up the stairs and into the small one bedroom apartment.

The apartment itself was relatively clean considering two boys live their alone. There were a few empty noodle cups on the counter and near the trash can. The bedroom had soft tatami mats on the floor with two futons and some thick blankets.

"They sleep on the floor?" asked Dumbledore.

"No, futons, the mats on the floor are already soft, plus the futons, it is actually very comfortable," said Sarutobi.

"It seems they live in adequate conditions though I don't like the idea of them living alone," said Albus.

"There were many orphans after the attack by Kyubi and there were nowhere near enough people to adopt or house all those orphaned. It is sad but this is not entirely uncommon here," said Sarutobi not liking one bit that he felt the need to defend himself to this foreigner.

"I am sorry for the troubles of your village," said Albus, "Shall we go the academy?"

Sarutobi nodded.

Soon enough they were walking the halls of the academy. "This is Umino Iruka's classroom. He is responsible for Naruto and Harry's class until they graduate the academy."

Sarutobi opened the door.

"Hokage-same," said Iruka instantly coming to attention when the elderly man entered.

"Relax Iruka-san, I have brought a special observer to watch this class for a few days," said Sarutobi.

Iruka instantly understood, "Welcome sir. Please have a seat wherever you like."

"Thank you Iruka-san," said Albus as he entered the class and took a seat in the back.

Albus wasn't sure what to think while watching the class at work. They learned history, mathematics, psychology, politics, and law during lecture but it only lasted about half of the day's lesson. The other half was spent learning to kill, main, and torture. They learned to throw weapons with deadly accuracy, build traps designed to kill a man instantly, they trained to physically combat anther person, armed or unarmed. It was highly disturbing but then as he watched the interaction of the students they didn't seem in slightest bit mindless . . . well most of them didn't anyway. And then there was Naruto and Harry. They were both completely carefree laughing and joking with each other as they did these things.

Later in the Hokage's office.

"Well, you have seen more of our training than any outsider ever has. What is your honest opinion?" asked Sarutobi.

"I am honestly slightly disturbed," said Albus.

"Only slightly?" asked Sarutobi surprised.

"You live a very harsh live here, I can understand the need to begin training as children but is it really necessary to be so descript in your explanations?"

Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe, "So, they discussed vitals today when throwing weapons?"

Albus nodded.

"Consider if you will, there is a crime boss we have been hired to eliminate. He has hired missing-nin to protect him. But he also has other guards on the perimeter that need to be eliminated first. We kill all of them flawlessly but one. We miss the vital and he lives long enough to warn the others. My men are now in danger and the crime boss is likely to escape only to hurt more innocents in the long run. That is something we strive to prevent at all costs. That is why we train to perfection to be the perfect assassins, spies, and protectors."

"Protectors?"

"We are very proactive about protection. We assassinate to save lives later. We spy to gain information to prevent unnecessary deaths. We protect what is most precious to us. While I know that not all shinobi villages operate with this code, we do," said Sarutobi very serious, "Now, can you answer something for me?"

"Certainly," said Albus who was clearly deflated now.

"What can Harry expect when he returns to your world?"

"His return will be celebrated by many."

"And?"

"And there will those that will hate him for the death of Voldemort," said Albus.

"And?" asked Sarutobi sensing that Albus was hiding something.

"I believe that Voldemort will return someday," said Albus gravely.

"I see, so Harry will be facing many unknown enemies, one very powerful known enemy, and a handful of other variables? I fail to see how you expect Harry to survive without this training or some manner of training from a very young age. You planned to leave him with his Aunt, would she have trained him? Or are you so selfish that you would leave the boy unprepared to face the challenges that will no doubt come his way sooner or later? You may not agree with our methods but if they keep Harry alive I could care less what you think of our methods because they will give him a fighting chance that you would otherwise deny him."

Albus was left without rebuttal. Albus believed himself infallible and now to find that he would have made such a horrible mistake was shattering to his self-esteem.

"Now, you may continue to observe him if you so wish but you will not be allowed to remove him from this village until he has a fighting chance. Only then will he go with you to learn everything you have to teach him," said Sarutobi, "If you don't mind, it is rather late and I have had a rather busy day. Good evening."

Albus sat in the office long after Sarutobi left watching the two boys laughing and studying together through the crystal ball. Who was he to judge when the evidence was so strong that Harry was truly thriving here. Albus left that night and would not return again until it was time to collect Harry.

**BREAK**

"Alright you damn scroll," said Naruto, "Show us what's next."

Two months had come and gone and Naruto and Harry both adjusted to the running and extra physical activity at the academy and now it was time for the scroll to cough up the next bit of information.

_'Congratulations, if you can read this it means you've attained a suitably level of strength and endurance to handle what's coming next. Now, fleeing is about strategy, if you don't have an exit strategy before you start the prank you'll never be able to escape. Genjutsu is the Kami, the yin and the yang, the highest level of escape. However, good genjutsu does nothing for you if you don't have the body to keep up with it._

_'Henge is your most basic genjutsu. It allows you to take the appearance of another person at will. Learn it, love it, use it. Learn this base and then keep building through the below list of Genjutsu. Be sure to experiment with them, try them for different pranks than just the examples listed below. But at all times be ready to run for it. You won't find many who can keep up with you now.'_

"Sweet," said Harry, "That's the first technique we're supposed to learn in the academy, but we're not supposed to learn it until next year."

"Yes, then we'll be ahead. Let's get to work," said Naruto excitedly.

"Hell yeah," shouted Harry equally excited.

Two hours later there opinions had changed drastically.

"I hate damn Genjutsu!" the pair shouted together. Sure Henge was a cinch and easy to manipulate into whatever they wanted it to be. But the next one sucked royally. It was a kind of camouflage Jutsu in which they would blend in with their background. The found that could make themselves look blurry around the edges but it still didn't work right.

"We just have to work harder, that's all," said Naruto forcing himself to try it again and again and again and again taking turns with Harry.

The next several weeks passed with Harry and Naruto completely engrossed in learning just that one Genjutsu. It didn't allow you to move but if you remained perfectly silent and didn't move in the slightest bit you would be invisible to the naked eye.

Finally they turned back to the scroll to see if they were doing something wrong.

_'Kongou no Jutsu: Designed to allow you to be invisible in plain site as long as you're not moving.'_

There followed instructions for the hand seals and the way to mold chakra. Then they noticed a little side note they had missed before.

_'(Chakra Control exercises may be necessary)'_

"Chakra control, what the hell is that?" asked Naruto.

"We should ask the old man or Iruka-sensei," said Harry.

"Old man," said Naruto and Harry together after a moment pause.

I little while later the pair was waiting impatiently for the Hokage to arrive.

"Naruto, Harry, what brings you two here?" asked Sarutobi as he came out of his office.

"We need your help," said Harry sheepishly. The thing about Naruto and Harry was that they hated having to ask for help from anyone but each other. Even the suggestion of coming here in the first place was highly debated.

"Please come inside then," said the Hokage motioning for the pair to enter his office.

Once they were seated Sarutobi asked, "So what can I do for you two?"

"We need to learn chakra control," said Naruto bluntly.

"Or at least be shown a few exercises," said Harry equally blunt.

"I see, and why is that?" asked Sarutobi.

"Well, the scroll is teaching us some stuff right now and it said that we might need Chakra Control exercises," explained Naruto.

"I see," said Sarutobi with a smile. He pushed the intercom, "Send for Ebisu."

"Yes Hokage-sama," said the secretary.

It was a few minutes before a young Chuunin entered the office with a bandana covering his head and dark round sunglasses covering his eyes, "You called for me Hokage-sama?"

"Ebisu-san, how are you?"

"Very well sir," said Ebisu, "What can I do for you?"

"I need your services as Konoha's number one tutor," said Sarutobi stoking the man's ego.

"I am, as always, at your service Hokage-sama," said Ebisu.

"I'm glad to hear that," said Sarutobi, "I need you to teach young Naruto and Harry here a few chakra control exercises."

"But Hokage-sama," protested Ebisu before he was cut off at by a look from the old man.

"In return, Naruto and Harry are willing to offer you immunity from their pranks while you are teaching them," said Sarutobi knowing that would sell.

"Hey, we never agreed to that," protested Harry before Naruto made him see reason.

"It's only while he is teaching us, then we can pay him back ten fold," whispered Naruto conspiratorially.

"Fine, we agree to the terms but you'd better teach us really well," said Harry haughtily.

"I am the finest tutor in the village, of course I will teach you well," said Ebisu confidently.

"Ebisu, you will teach them tree climbing, water walking, and chakra strings," said Sarutobi, "That should be plenty of control exercises."

Ebisu was terrified of the idea of teach pranksters skills that would only improve their ability to plan and set pranks. "As you order Hokage-sama."

Naruto and Harry both followed Ebisu out of the office. It was apparent to both of them that Ebisu didn't much like them, lucky for them that the Hokage did.

"Hey, Ebisu-sensei, how does climbing trees help our chakra control?" asked Harry.

"You'll see," said Ebisu not really wanting to talk to them.

So the pair followed in silence having clearly gotten the picture of Ebisu not liking them.

"To climb trees will improve your chakra control because you will not be using your hands. You have to put chakra to the bottom of your feet in just the right amount. Observe," said Ebisu as he put his hand in the tiger seal and channeled a bit of chakra to his feet. He then stepped onto the tree and walked up it as though it were nothing. "This is what it means to climb a tree the shinobi way."

Naruto and Harry both dropped their jaws. This was going to be difficult.

Ebisu jumped down from the tree, "Now, forming chakra on the bottom of your feet is the most difficult place to form chakra. You need to test your grip with your first few steps to make sure that you are using the exact amount necessary. You must also be able to adjust your chakra as you continue up the tree. Good luck."

Naruto and Harry both swallowed as they turned to the trees before them.

"If you're nervous try running at first," said Ebisu from behind them.

"No sense in delaying," said Harry with a sigh.

"Nope, no sense," said Naruto as he took up a runners stance and ran full bore towards his tree. He made his first step then fell back on his head.

"It helps to channel some chakra first," said Ebisu helpfully and yet condescendingly at the same time.

Harry channeled chakra just like Ebisu did and ran for the tree. He made it up about five steps before he slipped and fell.

"You're not using enough Chakra Harry," said Ebisu.

Naruto stood and channeled chakra this time and ran for it. He made about ten steps up before the bark until his foot shattered and he lost his grip. This time though, he landed on his feet in a crouched position.

"Too much Chakra Naruto but much improved from your first attempt."

It went back and forth like this for a while with Harry and Naruto taking turns running up the tree. Eventually they both reached the top.

"Very good," said Ebisu, "That only took you six hours. Now, let's see if you can run up and down the tree fifty times without falling once." The sarcasm simply poured from his voice. At some point in time Ebisu had gotten a lawn chair, started a fire, set a pot of coffee over and set up a couple tents. "Why don't you come down now and we'll eat?"

Naruto and Harry both sat down around the fire to relax.

"I don't cook much, so cup ramen will have to suffice," said Ebisu as he religiously poured the boiling water from the pot on the fire into his own 'Super-Deluxe-Mega Shrimp Ramen'.

"We love Ramen," shouted Naruto.

"It's the best food in the world," added Harry with a giant smile that matched his cousin's.

"You two like Ramen?" asked Ebisu curiously. He was actually surprised.

"Have you ever been to Ichiraku?" asked Naruto.

"They have the best Ramen in town," said Harry excitedly.

"They are the best," said Ebisu finding he had something in common with these boys.

"How come we've never seen you there before?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, we eat there almost everyday," said Naruto.

"As much as I love Ramen, it is not overly healthy for you. A shinobi must maintain a healthy body and mind. Part of that requires us to eat other healthy and nutritious foods like fruit and vegetables," explained Ebisu.

"But they are so yucky," complained Naruto.

"I know, but it is true," said Ebisu sadly, "You should really try to eat them at least once a day. Breakfast is usually best."

"You think we should Harry?" asked Naruto as he watch Harry swallow down his fourth cup ramen.

"Sure," said Harry, "As long as all our other meals stay ramen I don't really care."

"We'll try it then," said Naruto, "But, could you show us what vegetables and fruit to buy?"

"I suppose I could," said Ebisu, "But it will have to wait until we return to town."

"That's fine," said Harry after he finished his sixth and final bowl. He didn't want to over eat since he and Naruto had more tree climbing to do.

"Alright," said Ebisu a few minutes later, "Back to work you two. Remember, fifty times up and down without falling once."

They stayed out there for a few days missing classes and not generally caring because they were learning so much. After they were finally able to run up and down the tree they had to learn to walk up and down the tree which took a lot more control and power.

Finally after they master all aspects of tree climbing they returned to the village. Ebisu took them to the store as promised but unfortunately the owner refused to sell to Naruto and Harry. In the end, Ebisu agreed to buy the fruit and vegetables and deliver them to the pair twice a week, they paid for it of course.

"Okay, so I'll meet you outside the academy everyday for the next few weeks to teach you water walking. Is that alright?" asked Ebisu. At some point over the last few days he had stopped glaring at them and started being much nicer to them.

"Sounds great Ebisu-sensei," shouted Naruto.

"See you later Ebisu-sensei," shouted Harry as he and Naruto ran home.

**BREAK**

Harry and Naruto spent weeks working on Chakra control with Ebisu and managed to improve dramatically. Water walking was more difficult at first than tree climbing and then it became drastically more difficult than tree climbing. They had to learn to run and jump and use counter buoyancy and several other facets of a moving surface. Eventually they got the hang of it but it was not easy in the slightest.

After that they started learning to manipulate chakra strings. It was less time consuming than tree climbing or water walking because they could practice during class time and they already began to integrate it into their pranks. However, it did require a much finer level of control than the other did which made it far more difficult overall.

"Well, you two have learned everything I've been ordered to teach you now," said Ebisu putting a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Thank you so much Ebisu-sensei," said Naruto and Harry together with big smiles.

"Well, if you find something else you need to learn just let me know and I will help you as much as I can," said Ebisu with a faint smile.

"See you," said Harry with a smile and a wave before he darted away towards home.

"Bye," said Naruto before chasing after Harry, "Hey, wait for me."

Ebisu laughed before he left to report on his mission results to the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama," said Ebisu bowing deeply after appeared in the office.

"Ebisu-san," said Sarutobi with a nod of his head, "How did they do?"

"Very well sir, they were very motivated to learn," said Ebisu.

"Do you think me foolish for favoring them so much?" asked Sarutobi.

"What do you mean sir?" asked Ebisu.

"Do you think it is a mistake that I let them get away with so much? Do you think it is okay for me to allow them to learn such things at such a young age? What is your opinion?"

"I don't know sir. If you had asked me before I taught them I would say 'yes, it was a mistake' but now that I've gotten to know them, I don't think so. You definitely shouldn't let them get away with some of their pranks though, that is not the kind of attention they need."

Sarutobi smiled at the young Chuunin's appraisal. "I don't know why, but I see such enormous potential from both of them. I know they are destined for great things."

"I agree," said Ebisu, "They have such a huge potential. Most Genin could not have learned what they did in such a short period of time. I am most interested to see how they develop."

"You and me both," said Sarutobi lighting up his pipe, "You and me both."

**BREAK**

Naruto and Harry ran into their apartment and went straight to the scroll to try the Kongou no Jutsu. They hadn't tried it once since they began to train with Ebisu. They wanted to finish that before trying this again.

Naruto and Harry read through the directions again and the sections that talked about the shaping of the chakra. Suddenly it made so much more sense. The training from Ebisu taught them a lot about shaping and using chakra that they could now relate the things Ebisu said with the scroll.

"I'm first," said Harry excitedly as he started through the hand seals slowly making sure they were perfect and he shaped the chakra fully before he moved onto the next seal. Suddenly Harry vanished from sight.

"You did it," said Naruto excitedly observing where Harry should have been. He stuck out a hand and felt Harry their causing the Genjutsu to drop along with Harry to the ground. "Hey, you okay?"

"That . . . was . . . awesome," said Harry panting for breath, "But . . . so . . . hard."

"I've got to try it," said Naruto doing the same as Harry and instantly vanishing from sight. "Sweet," said Naruto instantly reappearing breathing only slightly.

"We are going to have to practice this a lot," said Naruto.

"Especially when running away," said Harry finally catching his breath.

"This is going to be so cool," said Naruto dreaming of all the pranks that just became available.

"Come, let's look through the examples on the scroll and put together our first prank," said Harry slowly and wobbly making his way back to the scroll.

Naruto smiled and joined, "Pranks On!"

In that instant the entire village shivered with a great feeling of approaching dread.

**BREAK**

"Hokage-sama, something terrible has happened," shouted a village Jounin.

"What is it this time? Is it Naruto and Harry?"

"We don't know sir," said the Jounin, "It just suddenly appeared their. There is no evidence to who did it."

"Did what exactly?"

"The Hokage Monument, it's been completely vandalized," said the Jounin pointing out the window.

There was paint covering them with all kind of insults written and strange graffiti. Whoever did it could not have done so without someone seeing it done and especially not in the middle of the afternoon.

"Check the academy, see if Naruto and Harry are there," ordered the Hokage.

"Yes sir," said Jounin before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The Jounin arrived to the Iruka's classroom, "Excuse me Iruka-san, are Uzumaki Naruto and Potter Harry here."

"Yes sir," said Iruka curious "Is something wrong?"

"Did they ever leave the classroom?"

"No sir, they've been here all morning why?"

"Someone vandalized the Hokage monument and it looks like something Naruto and Harry would do," said the Jounin.

"Naruto, Harry, come here please," said Iruka.

"Yes sensei," said the boys.

"Boys, do you know anything about some paint on the Hokage monument?"

Both boys laughed, "Why didn't we ever think of that? That's brilliant."

"So you didn't do it?" asked the Jounin.

"No but I sure wish we did," said Harry.

"Yeah, but we've been here reviewing for the Genin test tomorrow," said Naruto.

The Jounin frown, "We thought it might have been you."

"Hey, we've been really good lately thank you very much," said Naruto.

"Yeah, I think someone is trying to frame us for this," said Harry angrily.

"Yeah, maybe you should ask the villagers that seem to hate us. Maybe they did this so that you wouldn't let us take the Genin exam," said Naruto inventing a conspiracy theory that might actually be taken seriously.

"Yeah, why don't you bother them instead of accusing us when we are trying to get ready for the Genin exam," said Harry trying not to laugh at Naruto's conspiracy theory.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your lesson Iruka-san," said the Jounin retreating as fast as he could.

Once he was gone Iruka looked at the pair, "I don't know how you did it but I know you did."

The boys just smiled, "Prove it," which caused all the students to laugh out loud about it.

"Just for that we're all going to review the Henge," said Iruka angrily, "You can all thank Harry and Naruto for it."

"Way to go jerks," mumbled a few of the student's.

"Should we do it?" asked Harry to Naruto.

"It might kill him though," said Naruto.

"Yeah, but it would be really damn funny," said Harry with a snicker.

"Okay, we'll do it," said Naruto with a foxy grin.

Naruto and Harry patiently waited their turn.

"Naruto," called Iruka.

Naruto smirked and change silently, "Iruka-kun."

Iruka looked up to see Naruto as a naked woman surrounded by a few wisps of cloud. The blood instantly rushed to his head and shot him airborne and jet of blood shooting from his nose.

Naruto puffed back and laughed so hard he fell to the floor.

Harry somehow managed to keep a straight face even though he was laughing inside. "Naruto, take this seriously, we're supposed to be getting ready for the exam."

Iruka finally stood and was about to say the same thing but stopped himself.

Naruto puffed again, "Oh come on Naruto this was your idea."

Harry puffed and turned into Naruto, "It was good too but I didn't know you were going to do that to him."

Naruto puffed again, "This is kind of fun Harry."

Harry puffed again into himself, "Yeah it, do think anyone know which is the real one by now?"

"I doubt," said Naruto puffing again into Harry.

"Alright you two can go back to your seats, you've made your point," said Iruka trying not to laugh at their antics. The other students though didn't hold back from laughing at all.

The remainder of the class was rather boring filled with a lot of lecture about what to expect on the exam.

After lesson Naruto and Harry took their time walking home.

"So what's left on the scroll?" asked Harry.

"Only the bloodlimit techniques for me," said Naruto trying not to sound overly pleased.

"Sweet," said Harry, "I can't wait to see you start using them. It's going to be so cool."

"Yeah, I'm kind of excited but I haven't accidentally used my limit yet," said Naruto slightly disappointed, "The scroll says I won't be able to learn any of the techniques until something happens. It's just so frustrating."

"Hey, it'll happen Naruto," said Harry, "Maybe when we join a Genin team yeah?"

"Yeah, I hope so," said Naruto, "You want to go spar. We always need to practice that more."

"Sure, but let's go to the shop and up our weights first, these are getting too light now," said Harry moving his body awkwardly.

"I know," said Naruto even though he was wearing three or four times more in weights than Harry was.

When they first started using weights they discovered that Naruto's strength grew so much faster than Harry's did. Sandaime said it was because of Naruto's Kazama blood but they weren't too sure that was true. On the other hand once they both learned to control their chakra properly they found that Harry could learn nearly any technique he chose within a day or two where it took Naruto at least a week or more. The pair seemed to balance each other out really well for strengths and weakness. Naruto was physically stronger and had a lot more chakra but not very good control and it was hard for him to learn techniques. Harry was physically faster and had an average amount of chakra but nearly perfect control and he learned things so fast. As a result, Naruto knew the techniques taught by the scroll but very little else while Harry knew the scroll and several other techniques. They both also learned a few Katon Jutsu from Ebisu but that was more to do with pissing off Uchiha Sasuke than anything else. They had both developed different aspects of the Kazama Taijutsu style that was outlined on the scroll. Harry concentrated on the speed aspects and while he'd never have the blood limit techniques associated with it he did fairly well. Naruto learned all of it to the best of his ability, both the speed aspects and the power moves.

"Naruto," said a Jounin that appeared from out of nowhere.

"Yes sir," said Naruto looking at him funny.

"Sandaime-sama has said that you are to come to his office tomorrow after you pass your exam."

"Harry, you are to come half an hour after Naruto," said the Jounin before disappearing.

"That was weird," said Naruto.

"Yeah," said Harry.

"Well, let's get out to forest and get to work," said Naruto running ahead of Harry.

Harry smiled and chased after Naruto.

**BREAK**

"Albus," said Sarutobi with a nod to the other elderly gentleman.

"Sarutobi," said Albus in return.

"Might I inquire as to the reason for the visit?"

"I have come to deliver Harry's letter," said Albus, "I believe he will be turning eleven in a few days?"

"He will," said Sarutobi.

"And are his studies nearing completion?"

"They are."

"Excellent, then I will come to collect him on August 15th. And return him here in June," said Albus with a jovial smile.

"I'm afraid I can't agree to that," said Sarutobi.

"What exactly do you mean?" asked Albus trying to conceal the anger that was bubbling just below the surface.

"Harry has blossomed here in this village in an amazing young man. I look at him and Naruto as something of Grandchildren. I cannot allow you to just take Harry," said Sarutobi.

"When I brought him here you agreed that when he turned eleven he would come and learn about the world his parents were a part of. He would learn our magic. That boy has a destiny and I will not allow you to prevent him from living it," said Albus finally letting loose his anger.

"I did agree and I still do, however, I will not let you just take away the only family Naruto has left. If you are taking Harry you had best be prepared to take Naruto with you as well," said Sarutobi still entirely calm. It seemed that some of Naruto and Harry had rubbed off on him after all.

Albus' anger instantly vanished and was replaced with confusion which caused Sarutobi to just laugh out loud.

"You should have seen the look on your face," said Sarutobi, "I thought you were going to keel over there for a minute." He was still laughing uncontrollably.

Albus actually grinned for a moment, "I have never met another person who could be just as infuriating as I am. But, it Naruto not a year younger than Harry?"

"He is," said Sarutobi, "However, he is skilled and capable of learning. No one would need to know he was only 9 when he started."

"I will see what I can do," said Albus, "Give me a few days to work everything out, but it should not be too much of a problem."

"Thank you Albus," said Sarutobi with smile and a slight nod and just like that Albus had gone once again.

**BREAK**

The next day at the academy Naruto and Harry were visibly nervous about the exam.

"You two seriously need to relax," said the annoying blond girl, Ino.

"Don't talk to us right now," snapped Naruto.

"Jerk," said Ino taking her seat again.

"Potter Harry," called Iruka from the door.

"Good luck Harry," said Naruto to his only family.

"You too, see you after we both pass," said Harry trying to talk some confidence into himself.

Harry left the room leaving Naruto to panic even more.

"G good l l luck N N Naruto-k kun," said a very soft voice that was now filling Harry's chair.

"Hinata?" question Naruto of the girl next to him. She had never talked to him before, ever.

She just ducked her head and blushed furiously, "I I I I hope y y you p p p pass."

Naruto suddenly relaxed seeing that she was more nervous than he was, "Thanks Hinata, I hope you pass too." He didn't realize how much more it caused her to blush.

"Hyuga Hinata," called Iruka from the door.

"That fast?" question Naruto worriedly not liking that Harry finished so quickly.

The panic was soon setting in again but he didn't have that long to wait for it to set in before he was called into the next room.

"Uzumaki Naruto," called Iruka.

Naruto entered the room where Iruka and Mizuki both sat patiently.

"Naruto, please perform a perfect Henge of the Hokage," ordered Mizuki glaring at Naruto.

"Umm, one question first, did Harry pass?" asked Naruto.

"Yes Naruto," said Iruka with a smile.

Naruto breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Now if you would Henge," said Iruka nicely.

Naruto didn't even move and transformed into a perfect image of the Hokage.

"Very good, now please perform a Kawarimi with that log," said Iruka with a smile.

Naruto puffed away only to be replaced with the specified log while he was nowhere to be seen at all.

"Where the hell did that demon go?" asked an angry Mizuki.

"Silence Mizuki," ordered Iruka.

Naruto then dropped the Genjutsu he was hiding under and glared at Mizuki.

"Very good technique Naruto," said Iruka glaring slightly at Mizuki.

"Bunshin," said Mizuki with a smirk. He knew how much trouble Naruto had with the Bunshin technique.

"Um, Iruka-sensei," said Naruto nervously. He wasn't sure it was a good idea to reveal this but he had to try or else he would fail, "I can't do a regular Bunshin."

"Naruto, you have to do a Bunshin to pass," said Iruka with a sigh cutting Mizuki off before he could say anything.

"Could I do a more advanced Bunshin instead?" asked Naruto nervously.

Iruka raised his eyebrow at this.

"Hah, as if you could," said Mizuki, "Stop wasting our time, you fail."

"Mizuki-san, give him a chance. If he can't do it then he will be failed," said Iruka.

"Um, how many?" asked Naruto.

"At least three, more if you can," said Iruka.

Naruto smiled and nodded before making two very fast seal that even the teachers couldn't see, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Suddenly the room was filled with close to thirty Naruto's.

"Naruto," whisper Iruka in awe, "How have you done this?"

"I have too much chakra for regular Bunshin, they can't hold the amount I have and retain form so I had to learn Kage Bunshin because they can hold chakra more than an illusion can," explained Naruto really proud of himself. Naruto let all the Bunshin disperse.

"We can't let this demon pass," shouted Mizuki in rage as he leapt over the table and charged at Naruto with a kunai drawn.

Naruto was panicked, he needed to get away from him but he was coming too fast and Iruka wouldn't be able to help him and he was completely unarmed. He just needed to be on the other side of the room so that Iruka was between them. Naruto suddenly felt odd the image of the room was suddenly flickering between to images, one of him facing the on coming Mizuki and the other of him standing behind Iruka. The images continued to flicker back and forth for a minute until the one of him standing behind Iruka was the only one he saw.

"What the hell was that?" demanded Mizuki, "Where is that demon?"

Suddenly several ANBU appeared in the room and knocked Mizuki out.

"Naruto, where are you?" asked Iruka.

"Here sir," said Naruto from behind him.

Iruka turned around, "You're okay, how did you do that?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to be behind you and not in front of him and then suddenly I was," said Naruto worried that he'd done something wrong.

"You should probably ask the Hokage, I have heard of a similar technique but I can't be certain," said Iruka not wanting to believe what he just saw. For if what he just saw was real, then that would mean that Naruto was much more important than anyone in the village ever imagined.

"So, do I pass?" asked Naruto sheepishly.

Iruka chuckled, "Yes Naruto, you pass."

"Yata," shouted Naruto jumping up and down with joy.

Iruka picked up one of the headbands that had fallen to the floor when Mizuki flipped the table over and tossed it to Naruto, "Put that on and wear it with pride Naruto."

Naruto quickly raced out into the hall to join Harry. They promised that they would put a Leaf headband until they could do it together.

"You passed?" asked Harry excitedly upon seeing his best friend.

"Of course and guess what?"

"What?" asked Harry.

Naruto leaned in to whisper, "I think I accidentally activated my bloodlimit."

Harry jerked back and looked at Naruto with wide eyes, "Really?"

"Yeah," said Naruto barely holding in his excitement.

"This is great Naruto," said Harry, "Come on, let's go see the old man and then we can go home and get to work on it."

"Sounds great to me," said Naruto ran ahead of his cousin.

Not much later they were outside the Hokage's office waiting for their appointment.

"Uzumaki, you can go in now," said the snotty secretary.

Naruto stood and entered with some trepidation. The old man didn't usually ask to see him unless he was in trouble.

"Hey ojisan," said Naruto cockily as he entered.

Sarutobi smiled, "Hello Naruto-kun, please have a seat."

"Sure, so what's up?"

"Naruto, I know that things have been hard for you growing up the way you have," began Sarutobi.

"Not that bad, I've always had Harry," said Naruto cheerily.

"Indeed, but I also know that you have had problems with many of the villagers," said Sarutobi.

"Yeah, but I don't understand why. Why do they hate me?"

"They don't hate you Naruto, they hate what hold prisoner within you," said Sarutobi.

"What do you mean?" asked a confused Naruto.

"Naruto, this might be hard to understand but I think now that you are an official shinobi of the leaf it is time for you to know. Yondaime Hokage could not kill the Kyubi. He had to seal it within a child, specifically, you," said Sandaime bluntly.

Naruto seemed shocked which was completely understandable.

"Now make no mistake, you are not, I repeat, not Kyubi. You were chosen to hold the Kyubi prison and to protect the world from it. One day you may even learn to control the beast and use it to protect you."

"Why me though? Why not some other baby? Surely there must have been others," said Naruto trying to understand.

"Because the Yondaime's name is Kazama Arashi," said Sarutobi hoping that Naruto would comprehend it instantly.

Naruto gasped as soon as he put it all together, "Was he my . . . was he my father?"

"Yes Naruto, he was. He chose you because he trusted in his family's blood. He chose you because he was a good leader. For a good leader could not ask of another person what he was not willing to do himself."

"So, dad was just doing what he felt was right?" asked Naruto, "That's why I have to bare the burden?"

"I'm sorry Naruto, but yes."

"I understand, but, why do the villagers hate me then? If I'm protecting them from Kyubi, shouldn't they, like, worship me or something?"

Sarutobi chuckled, "Your father wanted you to be seen as a hero, but instead, the people can only see the demon inside of you."

"Well then I will just have to prove to them that I'm no demon," said Naruto with pure determination.

"And how will you do that?"

"I'll become Hokage if I have to but they will recognize my existence as Kazama Naruto."

"Kazama?" questioned Sarutobi.

"I'm a ninja now, I can protect myself from threats. I will not hide my heritage from anyone," said Naruto adamantly.

"So be it," said Sarutobi writing a note on his desk, "Now, do you feel comfortable enough with this to tell Harry?"

"Of course, I could never hide anything from him. He's family."

Sarutobi smiled before calling for Harry to come in. Harry entered and took as seat next to Naruto and soon Naruto and the Hokage told him about the demon sealed inside him.

"So that's what that thing on your stomach is?" asked Harry, "Cool."

"Yeah, and ojisan says that I can eventually learn to use him," said Naruto.

"Really? Hey, maybe that's why you heal so fast and you can wear so much more weight than I can, and why your chakra control is so messed up."

"My control is not messed up, it's . . . just . . . difficult," said Naruto struggling for the right words.

"Exactly, messed up," said Harry with a grin.

Naruto sighed, "Yeah, messed up."

"Well, now that that bit of news is out of the weigh, I have your first mission," said Sarutobi causing the pair to snap to attention and look at him. "On the 15th you will both be leaving the 12 countries for the mainland."

Both gasped.

"Harry, this is going to come as something of a shock, but you were born on the mainland. It is where you are from. Your parents lived there, grew up there, and were murdered there."

"Murdered?" asked Harry, "Why wasn't I ever told? How did I come to be here then? Who did it?"

"You weren't told because I promised that I would not tell you until it were time for you to return to that world. You came here because your mother wished it before she died. And to the last question . . . well, I believe my guest would be best to explain that." Sarutobi nodded to the corner where an old man where bright blue flowing robes was standing silently.

"Hello my boys," said Albus, "I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Is he serious?" asked Naruto in a whisper to Sarutobi.

"I am quite serious Naruto," said Albus, "I had the great pleasure of teaching Harry's parents when they were your ages."

"Really? You knew my mum and dad?" asked Harry.

"Indeed I did," said Albus, "They were splendid people with good hearts and great strength."

"So what do you want with us?" asked Naruto bluntly.

"I would like to offer you and Harry a place at Hogwarts to learn our arts," said Dumbledore with a smile.

"Why?" asked Naruto, "We're ninja, isn't that enough?"

"Well, I suppose I should tell you both a story, then, maybe you'll understand."


	3. Chapter 3

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"Long ago there was a wizard. He was an orphan that came to Hogwarts to learn witchcraft and wizardry. At the time, we did not know what he would become. After he finished Hogwarts he virtually disappeared from the world. Some say he spent time traveling and learning as much dark magic as he was able to, other say that he was learning from the devil himself. Either way he became something twisted and evil. He created a name for himself, Voldemort. A name so feared that even now people are still afraid to speak is name."

"Why would you be afraid of a name?" asked Naruto as if it were simply stupid.

"I often wonder the same thing," said Albus, "Anyway, some years later he began a war against good wizards, like your parents." He smiled at Harry who was completely engrossed. "Many were killed and many more simply vanished without a trace, not a very good thing I should think. Eventually there was rumor that Voldemort wanted to kill Harry's parents and so the Potters along with Harry went into hiding. Sadly, Voldemort found them and you. He killed your father first and then he went up to your room to kill you and your mother. Your mother died trying to protect you. For reasons that no one knows or completely understands he turned his wand on you, but as you can see, you're very much alive."

"I lived even though he killed my parents?" asked Harry, "How is that possible?"

"He used the one curse no one has ever survived before, the killing curse. When the curse struck you here," he pointed to the infamous scar, "the spell rebounded and killed him instead."

"So he's dead?" asked Naruto.

"We're not really sure what he is. He is not alive and yet he is not dead either. One day I fear he shall rise again and seek to finish what he began with your parents," said Dumbledore grimly.

"Then we'll just kill him before he can kill us," said Naruto confidently.

"And how will you fight him?"

"We are shinobi you know?" said Harry sarcastically, "Plus when we master your magic then we'll be unstoppable. He won't stand a chance."

Albus smiled, "So, you both wish to come to Hogwarts and learn?"

"Of course we do old man," shouted Harry.

"Yeah, the Hokage gave us a mission and we never fail our missions," said Naruto.

"Not yet anyway," said Harry backing up his best friend and only family.

"Well, I think you have your answer," said Sarutobi, "They will be ready to depart on the 15th."

"Thank you for your time," said Albus with a polite nod and smile.

"Well, then boys, be sure you finish registering as a shinobi tomorrow morning including your pictures for your village ID's," said Sarutobi, "Enjoy the time you have left before you leave. I'll see you again in a few days."

Naruto and Harry nodded and ran from the office. They had things to take care of. It simply wouldn't do to leave the village for so long and not perform at least one more giant prank.

"They are certainly spirited," said Albus.

"You have no idea," said Sarutobi with a bit of a devious smile, "And after next week they are all yours." Sarutobi had to restrain himself from cackling like a mad man.

"I get the feeling that there is more to this than I would like to know," said Albus with a grim expression upon seeing how pleased Sarutobi looked.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," said Sarutobi.

**BREAK**

"You have the scrolls?" asked Naruto as he and Harry scoured their apartment for all of the things they wanted to bring with them.

"I think so," said Harry checking his bag one more time, "Do you have _the_ scroll?"

"Of course, that thing isn't leaving my sight, I don't care how weird it looks for me to be walking around with a giant scroll strapped over my shoulder," said Naruto adamantly before he ran into the room and came back out with the scroll across his back.

Harry just smirked.

"Shut up," said Naruto annoyed, "Let's go, we've got to meet the other ojisan in ojisan's office."

Harry smiled and nodded following Naruto away from their home and onto what was sure to be an amazing adventure. Naruto and Harry arrived within a few minutes to find Sarutobi and a man that could only be described as a giant.

"He's big," stated Naruto.

"Really big," added Harry as they looked up at a man that towered over them and the Hokage. He wore a long trench coat and had a black shaggy beard and mane of hair obscuring most of his face.

"Hello there," said the large man in a booming voice, "Name's Rubeus Hagrid, Dumbledore sent me to fetch ya both."

"I'm Harry."

"Naruto."

"Righ' then, let's ge' a move on eh?" asked Hagrid holding out an old shoe to them.

Naruto and Harry both raise a curious eyebrow at the shoe. "What is that?" asked Naruto finally.

"It's a portkey to take us to London," said Hagrid in his heavy English accent. Seeing they had no clue what he was talking about he continued, "Jus' grab hold would ya?"

Naruto looked at Harry and they both shrugged before grabbing hold.

The giant tug behind the navel jerked there world from existence. Upon landing Naruto and Harry were both instantly on their feet and armed to the teeth to fight back against the unknown attacker. The only thing they saw was Hagrid scratching his head.

"I thin' you two are the first I e'er seen stay standin' af'er their first portkey," said Hagrid.

"What the hell was that thing?" demanded Naruto not lowering his guard for an instant.

"Where the hell are we for that matter?" asked Harry looking around his surrounding

"Yer in England now," said Hagrid as though it were obvious.

"What happened to the village?"

"It's still there I reckon," said Hagrid, "That portkey just made us travel very far in a short amount of time."

"Was that thing magic?" asked Harry curiously.

"Yeah, it was. A powerful bit of magic too," said Hagrid.

"Can you do magic?" asked Naruto as he slipped his weapon's back into concealment.

"I used to go to Hogwarts but I was expelled in me third year. But good ole Dumbledore kept me on as groundskeeper. I do things for him sometimes too like picking up the two oh you," explained Hagrid, "But, first things first. Dumbledore told me to get you some Muggle clothes."

"Muggle?" asked Naruto.

"What's wrong with our clothes?" asked Harry as he looked himself and Naruto up and down. They wore what most shinobi wore. Sandals, black loose-fitting pants, chain mesh undershirt, t-shirt, and in Naruto's case, bright orange jacket.

"Muggles don't wear sandals, and you will need other clothes," said Hagrid as though he were reading from a script. In truth he was given a list of answers to questions by Dumbledore.

"What's a Muggle?" asked Naruto once again.

"Oh, right, non-magic folk," said Hagrid, "Now come along, lot's to do."

Naruto and Harry obediently followed Hagrid through a shoe store where they bought comfortable trainers and then to clothing shop for jeans, and other shirts and winter clothes.

"These shoes suck," complained Harry.

"Yeah, I can hardly move my feet in them," said Naruto, "How am I supposed to fight in this crap?"

"Yeah, we'd get our asses kicked in these," said Harry equally annoyed.

"I'm jus' doin' what Dumbledore told me to do," said Hagrid, "I'm sure once we get you two back to Hogwarts you'll be able to go back to wearing your other clothes again."

"Fine," said both boys pouting.

"Now, we're gonna stay tonight in the Leaky Cauldron and then in the mornin' I'll be takin yeh both to get yer school fings," said Hagrid more than a little exasperated with the pair.

That night Hagrid decided to get a room to himself so he could get a break from the duo. Luckily because it was so late when they arrived there was no one there to bother the pair.

Naruto and Harry woke up the next morning with the sun as usual.

"Where's the damn sun?" demanded Naruto.

"This country sucks," said Harry, "I know its morning, my body tells me as much but there's no bloody sun."

"This magic shit better be worth it," said Naruto pissed off.

"Come on, we need to do our morning training," said Harry getting up and getting dressed.

Naruto and Harry were soon racing through the halls of the inn to see who would be first down the stairs.

"Hey," yelled Harry to the bartender, "you with the rag and mugs."

Tom looked at the pair in confusion before pointing at himself.

"What's that? Are you youngsters talking to me?"

"Yeah, where the hell can we train at?" asked Naruto jumping up on the counter and looking the man in the eyes even though he was squinting.

"Train?" asked the bartender.

"You know, run, stretch, and the like?" asked Harry wondering just how stupid these British people were.

"Oh, well, you could go out into London and do that but it's awfully crowded. You could always go back into the alley. This time of the morning there won't be many people there," said Tom the bartender.

"Sounds good, now how do you we get there?" asked Naruto.

"Follow me boys," said the bartender only too happy to get away from Naruto's staring at such close range.

The bartender showed them out to an empty yard where he tapped a few bricks, which Harry and Naruto made sure to memorize. Once the door opened, Naruto and Harry ran off at full speed, chakra enhanced of course, much to the great shock of Tom. He barely heard them yell back a quick 'thanks'.

Naruto and Harry ran the length of both Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley several times that morning. However, feeling the evil that just radiated from Knockturn Alley they ran along the walls of the buildings where no one was looking.

They returned to the inn a bit later sweaty and ready to eat breakfast.

"Yo, got any ramen?" asked Harry to the bartender.

"Ramen? What's that?" asked Tom.

Harry and Naruto both went wide-eyed in shock.

"You know, noodles, miso, pork, beef, and shrimp?" asked Naruto praying that it was maybe called something else.

"Never heard of it," said the bartender with a shrug.

"NOOOOOO!" screamed Naruto and Harry together.

"What's all this?" asked Hagrid as he entered the bar area to find Naruto and Harry screaming as if they were in pain.

"Take us back," said Naruto attaching himself to Hagrid's leg.

"We can't stay here any longer," said Harry attaching himself to Hagrid's other leg.

"What? Why not?" asked Hagrid.

"They don't have Ramen," said Naruto as though he was saying something evil.

"What's that?" asked Hagrid.

"Only the single greatest food in the world," said Harry suddenly separating himself from Hagrid as if he had the plague.

"This place is evil," said Naruto with a shiver, "We gave this place a chance but this is the last straw.

"Yeah, take us back now," said Harry.

"Boys, I got orders and takin' you two back is not in them," said Hagrid, "Besides, don't you two have a mission or somethin'?"

Naruto and Harry seemed to steel their resolve.

"Fine, we'll eat your food but we don't have to like it," said Harry.

Finally Naruto turned to Harry, "And you said we didn't need to pack any instant Ramen. That this place would have ramen. You said . . ."

"I know what I said," said Harry, "And clearly I was wrong."

"Next time we go back home and have to come back here we're packing a years supply each," said Naruto as though it settled the argument.

"Why are you two so sweaty?" asked Hagrid finally sitting down at a table to eat breakfast.

"Morning workout," said Harry.

"What's that?" asked Hagrid.

"Running, stretching, sparring, chakra control exercises, and other things," explained Naruto.

"I don't know what yeh mean but whatever," said Hagrid with a shrug as he signaled to Tom that he was ready to order.

Two hours later all three were fed and cleaned up and dressed in the uncomfortable, hard to move in clothes that they bought the day before.

"Now come on you two, we got stuff to do," said Hagrid leading them back into Diagon Alley.

Naruto and Harry followed Hagrid silently just itching to pull out a kunai and loosen up their clothing their way. Despite Hagrid's protests, Naruto and Harry refused to step outside their room without their weapons pouch strapped to their legs. He won the argument about their bandanas and instead convinced them to wear it around their arms.

"First stop is Gringotts bank," said Hagrid.

"Why?" asked Harry.

"You'll be needin' money to buy all yer school thin's," said Hagrid.

"Oh," said Harry following along obediently, trying not to fidget too much.

Once inside the bank Naruto and Harry were both wide-eyed once more upon seeing the odd looking creatures.

"Here to make a withdrawal from the Potter vault," said Hagrid to the head Goblin.

"Key?" asked the Goblin.

Hagrid handed over a single little gold key, "I'm also here to get the 'you-know-what' in vault 'you-know-which'."

"Very well then," said Goblin, "Griphook!"

Within seconds a small goblin rushed over to the group, "Take them to the Potter Vault and then to here." He handed the small goblin a note.

"Yes sir," said Griphook with a nod.

The cart ride was interesting to say the least. Naruto and Harry kept asking the Goblin to make it go faster while Hagrid turned an interesting shade of green.

"Key please," said the goblin to Harry who had since been given his key.

Harry handed it over and then much like Naruto dropped his jaw upon seeing the inside. There were piles of gold and silver.

"We're rich," shouted Naruto before he started doing a little happy dance. Harry though just dove head first into the gold as though to swim in it.

"Stop playin' you two, fill your money bags and let's go," said Hagrid exasperated by the pair.

Soon enough they were both loaded up with gold and silver coins and in the cart to the next stop.

Griphook got out of the cart and moved towards the door.

Naruto and Harry though both got a chill down their spines.

The door swung open slowly to reveal a cloaked man bending over to collect a grubby brown little package.

"Intruder!" Shouted Griphook running toward an alarm button. He didn't make it very far when he was struck down by a flash of green light.

Hagrid though began to trundle forward towards the intruder only to stop short when his two subordinated rushed past him.

Naruto slid low on the ground kicking out one leg sending the little brown package skyward where Harry was already waiting to grab it. He took it in his hand and bounced off the ceiling just in time to dodge another flash of green light.

By now Naruto had recovered from his slide and had begun to sweep the legs of the attacker only for the cloaked man to seemingly float backwards away from him. Naruto followed up with a barrage of Shuriken which tore through the cloak to reveal no one there.

"Kawarimi?" questioned Naruto on alert for the attacker. Harry appeared with his back to Naruto also on high alert. The sound of people or rather goblins rushing down the tunnel though let them know for certain that whoever the attacker was would be long gone by now.

"No, I think he's gone," said Harry starting to relax a bit.

"Yo, Hagrid, you okay?" asked Naruto donning a bright smile.

"Fine," said Hagrid more than a little shaken after seeing the two boys fight off that . . . _thing_ so easily.

"What about Griphook?" asked Harry, "He got hit with that green light."

"The killing curse I'm afraid," said a rather tall goblin as he entered the vault.

"So he's dead?" asked Harry with a swallow.

"Yes," said the goblin, "Was the thief able to take anything?"

"I don't think so," said Harry holding out the package.

"That is very good," said the goblin, "Dumbledore was supposed to have come and collect this thing two weeks ago."

"Sorry 'bout that," said Hagrid, "I was delayed 'cause I had to pick up these two young'uns."

"I see," said the Goblin rather severely.

"Here's the package then sir," said Harry holding it out to the Goblin.

"I think it would be if you gave that to your large friend," said the Goblin.

Harry handed it over to Hagrid who quickly pocketed it, "Come on you two, we should be goin' nothin' more we can do 'ere."

Harry and Naruto followed Hagrid out to the cart where a different Goblin was waiting to take them back to the surface.

"You two alright?" asked Hagrid concerned, "I mean about the Goblin bein' killed."

"It happens," said Naruto with a shrug.

"We're shinobi, we're trained for this kind of thing," added Harry with an equal shrug.

"Besides, it's not like we knew him," said Naruto.

"And he died doing his job, occupational hazard as far as we're concerned," said Harry nonchalantly.

Hagrid was unsure of what to make of the pair. No wizard he ever knew had dealt with death so easily.

Once they were back out on the streets Hagrid left them at Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions while he went for a pick-me-up.

"Hogwarts then?" asked a friendly looking elderly woman.

"Yep," said Naruto.

Harry nodded as well.

"Right then, follow me," said the witch.

They were led into an area where another boy was standing with pale blond hair and a narrow nose. He gave off the impression that he thought he was better than everyone else. It reminded them both of Sasuke.

"Hogwarts?" asked the boy in a snobby voice that just begged to challenge them.

"Yep," said Naruto not one to ever back down from a challenge.

"Me too," said the boy, "Do you know what house you'll be then?"

"Um . . ."

"Well, no one really knows do they. But I know I'll be in Slytherin. What about you?"

"Any house but Slytherin," said Naruto not liking this boy at all.

"You should reconsider that," said the boy, "The most powerful are all from Slytherin. You-know-who was from Slytherin you know."

"All the more reason not to be in Slytherin," said Harry finding his backbone again, "My only goal in life is to permanently destroy that piece of shit Voldemort and everyone of his followers and I'll start with you if I have to."

The blond was a bit taken aback by the boys attitude, "You fool, you'll only be killed by him."

"He's already tried that now hasn't he," said Harry, "And look were that left him."

"Wait, are you Harry Potter?" asked the blond.

"What if he is?" asked Naruto positioning himself for a pincer attack with Harry if necessary.

"You should follow him then, he could teach you great things you know. More than that mudblood lover Dumbledore ever could," said the boy.

"Somehow I doubt that," said Harry confidently.

Their conversation was interrupted when the witch came in again, "You're all done, now off with you."

With that the blond hopped off the stool and left the shop but not before sneering at the duo.

"If we see him at school he and his friends are target number one for any and all pranks," said Naruto.

"Total humiliation," said Harry just as icily.

"Now you sound like your father," said the witch, "I remember when he first came in here for his school robes. Such a handsome young boy but he also had a great knack for getting into trouble."

Harry smiled brightly at that, "He liked pranks then?"

"Liked them? He turned it into an art form," said the witch as she took Harry's measurement and then Naruto's.

"We're going to have work cut out for us then," said Naruto, "We can't shame your father's legacy now can we."

"Absolutely not," said Harry with a grin.

"There you are dears, all done," said the witch handing them each a box.

When they got outside they found Hagrid waiting for them.

"All done?" he asked.

"Yep, where to next?" asked Naruto.

"Well, we should probably get you both a trunk for all of your things," said Hagrid as he showed them just across the alleyway to another shop. A few minutes later they both left with a rather disgruntled Hagrid. The pair just couldn't get a standard trunk like regular kids. No. They had to get something unique, just like them. To see Naruto walking out of the shop with a dark orange steamer trunk was enough but then at to that Harry's own emerald green trunk. Hagrid stood out on his own already, but this was a bit too much attention for his taste.

"Shrink 'em would yeh?" asked Hagrid feeling uncomfortable with the staring people.

"Fine," said Naruto and Harry pushing a little button on their trunks causing them to shrink to the size of a match box with a small pop. They decided that not only did they have to get unique trunks but that they needed some extra features, like multiple compartments, shrinking, electrocuting security system, built in weapons racks in one of the compartments. It just had to be useful for a ninja other wise there was no point in them buying it.

"Next stop, books," said Hagrid with a sigh of relief. There was no way they could cause trouble in there. Little did he know.

"Yo, Obaasan," said Naruto to the elderly lady working behind the counter.

"Did you need help finding your school books?"

"No, we got all those, we need books on fighting with magic," said Harry.

"You mean dueling?" asked the lady.

"Sure," said Naruto with a shrug.

"Oh, and anything about making traps," said Harry as an after thought.

"Traps?" asked the lady curiously.

"Yep," said Naruto with a giant grin.

"Let me see what we have," said the woman as she left the counter in search of what the boys were looking for.

She finally came back with a small assortment of books.

"These are too simple. We need complex stuff. Stuff we can use to fight against . . ." Naruto paused unsure of how to explain who he'd be fighting.

"Voldemort," said Harry quite strongly.

The woman gasped before looking at Harry and then naturally up to the scar on his forehead.

"Hey, stop looking at my cousin's scar," yelled Naruto drawing the attention of the entire shop.

"I'm sorry," the woman said hastily not wanting to cause a scene more so than Naruto had already done. "I think I have some advanced books in the reserved section. Let me just go get them."

She hurried into the back and returned a few minutes later with another stack of books. This time Naruto and Harry were both please with her selection. _The Assassin's Guide to Dueling; The Deathtrap of Magic; Making Death Eat Shit; Pain, Pain, and More Pain._

"Those will do," said Harry with a smile.

"Um, well, you have to be eighteen to buy them . . . but . . . because you're . . . well . . . I'll sell them to you . . . at a discount," said the witch cautious observing Harry and Naruto's attitude. For some reason she felt an overwhelming amount of fear when she looked at either of them.

After Naruto and Harry put their book selections away and paid of course they met up with Hagrid again outside.

"I love Kanashibari no Jutsu," said Naruto with a grin.

"I know, a little goes such a long way with these people," said Harry.

"What's that?" asked Hagrid.

"Nothing much," said Harry smiling.

"Secret for us," said Naruto with an equally devious smile.

"Right, well, let's go see about yer wands then," said Hagrid worried that if went inside the bookshop he'd regret it.

"Ah, I was wondering when I'd be seeing you Mr. Potter," said a creepy old guy.

"Another weird old ojisan," said Naruto.

"Ah, and we have another don't we," said the man.

"Right, well, we need wands or whatever," said Harry trying to avoid eye contact with the old man.

"This here is Mr. Olivander, he makes the best wands out there," said Hagrid with a smile.

"Let's us start with you Mr. Potter," said Olivander handing him a wand which he snatched away just as quickly. Soon Olivander had build up a rather large pile of wands that he obviously didn't like for Harry. "Most difficult. I wonder . . ." suddenly he vanished into the back only to return a moment later with another box.

Harry took the wand from within and felt a surge of chakra flow through him and the wand shoot of red and gold sparks.

"Curious, very curious," said Olivander.

"What's curious?" asked Harry.

"That wand in your hand holds a feather of a Phoenix. That very same Phoenix has only ever given one other feather, just one."

"What's curious about that?"

"Because you see, that feather resides in the same wand that gave you that scar," said Olivander really trying to freak out the occupants of the room.

"Cool," said Naruto, "That should mean this wand is ultra powerful then right?"

"Indeed, I think we can come to expect great things from you Mr. Potter, great things indeed for after all, he too did great things, terrible yes, but great."

"Okay, you are really freaky," said Naruto.

Olivander suddenly turned on Naruto, "Now for you boy, tell me what is your name?"

"I'm Kazama Naruto, future Hokage of Konohagakura and I will be acknowledged," shouted Naruto.

"Did you say Hokage?" asked Olivander.

"Yeah, what if I did?" asked Naruto. Inside he was angry with himself for letting his identity slip out so easily.

"Hmm, I've not had a Shinobi in this shop for many years," said Olivander, "Would I be correct in assuming that Mr. Potter has also been trained in the Hidden Arts?"

"Does it make a difference?" asked Naruto.

"It may," said Olivander with a grin, "You see, some years ago, Mr. Potter's mother came in here with a shinobi, her cousin I believe. She was showing him around the Wizarding world. I had the opportunity to speak with him a bit and then I saw him use some of your magic, or as you call it chakra. I was amazed to say the least. But something struck me as odd about the entire situation. He used nothing to focus his magic except his hand and even then the magic was very wild, very raw. I began to think to myself, perhaps there is a better way for them to focus their magic powers that would give them more control. As a result, I experimented with the idea for years. Finally, I created a few items of interest." Olivander then silently exited the room before returning with a few boxes. "These are much like wands but each is also very unique."

He set the six boxes on the table, "It took me a very long time to find the right materials for these to work and they are still rather untested but . . . well, perhaps you could test them for me?"

Olivander then opened each box placing the lid underneath each. Inside each box was a pair of fingerless-gloves. "They are designed in a way I thought would most suit people of your profession."

Naruto and Harry looked at each other curiously.

"Go on, try them on find the pair that best suites you," said Olivander to Harry.

"What are they?" asked Harry looking at them closer, "I mean, what are they made of?"

Olivander smiled, "This first pair is made of Unicorn hairs while the protective plate on the back is made of ground horn of Unicorn. Not overly powerful, but very fine control. The second pair is made from the skin of a basilisk, the knuckles are made from the tips of basilisk fangs. Quite powerful and not helpful with control, but very poisonous and deadly indeed. The third pair is made from Unicorn hair once again but this time that of a foal. Extreme power and control, however it is not very durable, I think if would be best used by someone who uses great finesse in their attacks. The forth pair was made from the skin of a Chinese-Fireball dragon, highly flame resistant, also quite flame friendly, they seem to burn anyone hit by them. Most unique if I do say so my self, though for some reason they only burn the flesh others if you so choose which is good I suppose."

Harry grabbed them up and slipped them on without a second thought. Harry's hands glowed red for an instant before calming.

"They seem to be agreeable to you Mr. Potter, you will have to let me know if you are ever able to completely master there usage and control," said Mr. Olivander.

"What about the last two?" asked Naruto whose eyes hadn't left the last pair in the row. He simply felt drawn to them from reasons he couldn't explain.

"The fifth pair is made from the hide of a were-cat. Very finicky about its user, there are hidden claws embedded in the finger tips. It is durable and I think requires good control. The last is the prize of this collection. In your land I do believe there are demons that still roam free wreaking havoc and destruction yes?. It cost me quite a small fortune to get my hands the materials to make this pair."

"What are they made of?" asked Naruto not wanting to hear the answer but needing to.

"I had a theory when I first began to make these that perhaps if I could use material from one of the demons that it would give the shinobi using them the powers of the demon or at least the strength to fight against the demon. I never dreamed that I would actually get hold of these materials but then some nine or so years ago I found someone selling the material for these gloves claiming they were from the remains of one of the great demons of the Antarctic Enclave. I was doubtful of course but then when I tested them . . . well, I was amazed. I happily paid the man his asking price and made these shortly there after."

"What demon?" demanded Naruto.

"These were made from the fur of Kyubi no Kitsune, the Great Nine-Tailed Fox Demon. However, they do not seem to work for anyone who has ever tried them, not that many have before. They seem to give off the most eerie aura I've ever felt. Would you like to try them?"

Naruto was very hesitant. He could feel a great pull towards them but he was afraid of what putting them on might do. Would it affect the seal? He quickly shook that thought from his head, he had to trust that his father knew what he was doing. Naruto hesitantly nodded his head before he picked them up out of the box. Already he could feel the power being pulled through his system by the gloves. He slowly put them on. They were a perfect fit. Kyubi's fur felt very soft but the stitching was so precise and accurate that it looks more like orange-red leather. Naruto's skin felt like it was on fire for an instant but it vanished just as quickly. What he didn't realize was that he was glowing with energy as soon as they made contact with his skin.

"I don't believe we need to look further for someone capable of using those gloves," said Olivander trying to remain calm in the sight of such overwhelming power.

"Naruto," whispered Harry, "Are you okay?"

"I feel fine," said Naruto, "No . . . better than fine."

"Try to take control of your Chakra, it's going everywhere," said Harry calmly.

Naruto closed his eyes for a second and concentrated on reigning in the chakra he now knew was coming off of him in waves. Only a moment later he ceased glowing and his power came under control, though it could be felt still bubbling just below the surface.

"Well now, that was most interesting, now let us see about a wand. I have a good idea where to begin," said Olivander leaving and retuning with another box.

The wand in the box was very unusual, especially in appearance. It was bright orange in color and was slightly longer than the average wand. "nine inches long, foxwood, heart strings of the Kyubi."

Naruto swallowed once again before taking the wand in hand. Once again he felt an enormous rush of chakra overload his senses and erupt from his body. This time the eruption was so great that it took the physical presence in the shape of a fox head over him and nine tails behind him. Naruto actually howled as the power filled him and fought for dominance within him. It took minutes for Naruto to reign in the foreign power and gain control once again but in that short time the chakra had destroyed most of Olivander's shop.

"I would say that wand was meant for you my boy," said Olivander peeking his head out from behind his shelter.

"I'm sorry for the damage," said Naruto sheepishly though still struggling to gain his baring on the power that now flowed through his veins.

"Think nothing of it my boy," said Olivander, "I'm just glad you were able to tame it."

"Me too," said Naruto though it was obvious from the concentration on his face that he was still trying to tame it.

"I think we can expect great things from the both of you," said Olivander.

"How much do we owe yeh Mr. Olivander?" asked Hagrid curious.

"I'll bill you," said Olivander as he took in all the damage to his shop.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will make everything right," said Hagrid ushering the boys quickly out of the shop.

"You boys can't make anything simple can yeh?" asked Hagrid a while later after he'd finished helping them get the remainder of their supplies.

"Not really, no," said Harry with a grin. Naruto though wasn't grinning, he was still greatly concentrated on gaining full control of the power inside him bursting to get out.

"We need to go somewhere secluded," said Naruto finally, "Far away from people, please." Naruto suddenly dropped to his knees trying to keep the wisps of chakra that were beginning to appear again under his control.

Hagrid looked greatly worried, "I'll get Dumbledore."

It was only minutes later that Dumbledore and Hagrid reappeared to find Naruto breathing heavily and Harry unable to approach because of the magic barrier Naruto put up around himself accidentally.

"Hagrid, please take Harry inside now," said Dumbledore doing his best to contain his fear.

"What about Naruto?" yelled Harry as he tried to fight against Hagrid's grip.

"I'll take care of him," said Albus anything but confident. Albus began to approach Naruto and fight through the chakra that was keeping people at a distance from him. It took every last ounce of power he had to get to the boy and take hold of him long enough to side-along apparate the boy into the forbidden forest. It was good that he did too because only seconds after landing Albus was blasted away from Naruto as the power erupted all around the boy ripping up trees and plants completely scouring the forest floor of everything as well.

"What is this?" Dumbledore asked only to himself as the energy around Naruto exploded into bright colors or red and blue. The two were fighting each other for dominance and the red was winning quite easily. But more amazing was that Naruto didn't seem to be in pain anymore as the red began to win out over the blue. He knew the chakra belonged to Kyubi but he couldn't sense the Kyubi breaking free or taking control of Naruto.

Albus watched for hours as the red and blue battled. The blue continually tried to come back only to be quickly absorbed or replaced by the red. Eventually the energies calmed and the blue stopped coming back. Only the red remained and even that was coming under control and retreating to the confines of Naruto's body. Finally Naruto's body relaxed and collapsed to the forest floor.

Albus approached him cautiously before scooping him up into his arms and rushing him to the hospital wing. Something most interesting just happened and he wanted to know what it was.

"Poppy," yelled Albus as he entered the ward.

"What is it Albus?" asked the elderly woman as she rushed out of her office.

"Hurry, check him over from head to toe," said Albus with a great sense of urgency.

Poppy started casting several spells, many that Albus knew and others that he didn't.

"This just can't be," said Poppy finally before doing some of the tests again.

"Is he okay?"

"He seems fine but this simply cannot be," said Poppy once again not believing the test results.

"What is it Poppy?"

"His entire magical core network has been rapidly destroyed and completely rebuilt," said Poppy.

"What do you mean? How could that be?" asked Albus. He had a hunch how it happened but she didn't need to know that.

"Okay, so the normal human body has a very specifically designed body to regulate the flow of magic through their body. Every body is exactly the same, well for the most part anyway, that is why we know what spells we can and cannot use on an individual. All of my tests tell me that he is in perfect health except that his magic flow is different from every single human on the planet," said Poppy, "What happened to this boy?"

"It doesn't matter, I need to know now if this will make him dangerous," said Albus.

"Dangerous how?" asked Poppy, "Dangerous as in he could explode, no. Dangerous in that he now has more magic and a more potent magic flowing through him than any other human, yourself included, absolutely."

"Will he be able to control his magic?" asked Albus.

"From what I can see from the tests is that his new magic network is flowing faster and stronger than any I've seen before, however, it is still rather uncontrolled. That is probably the only risk we have to worry over until he can gain complete control. Now you tell me, what has happened to this boy?" demanded Poppy.

"He got his wand today and his body reacted rather badly," said Albus.

"Then why did Olivander let him keep it?"

"The wand was right for him but it seems that the wand forced his body to change to be able to control it," said Albus, "I'm not sure how it caused it and I doubt we will ever really know." Lying was an art, one that Albus Dumbledore had mastered long ago.

"Well, at least he seems to be okay," said Poppy, "But don't you dare think of letting this boy out of the hospital for the next week until we can be sure that there are no lasting side effects."

Albus was about to argue when he saw how serious she was. "Very well then, I will leave him to your care."

"Harry," mumbled Naruto in his sleep causing Albus to smile.

"I must go and rescue Hagrid now from young Naruto's cousin who I have no doubt is quite upset right now," said Albus with a smile before he calmly exited the hospital ward.

Albus arrived at the Leaky Cauldron to the sound of some very loud crashes and explosions.

"Dumbledore, thank Merlin you're here," said a rather shaken looking Auror.

"What is happening here?" asked Albus not liking the answer he knew was coming.

"There is a young boy throwing a terrific temper tantrum tearing the place apart," said the Auror.

"And that warrants a full division of Aurors?" asked Albus.

"He's walking on walls, throwing knives, lighting things on fire . . . it is complete chaos in there," said the Auror.

"I will take care of it, you and your division may leave now. Oh and do me a small favor and forget that this ever happened," said Albus with a smile at his former student.

"Only because it's you sir," said the Auror before he called off his men.

"Thank you Jonathan, do say hello to your wife and daughter for me," said Albus as he entered the building only to have to dodge a dozen knives and throwing stars.

"Give me back Naruto," yelled Harry from a very well concealed position.

"Harry, its Albus Dumbledore."

"Where is Naruto, give him back now," demanded a very upset shinobi.

"He's fine Harry, I will take you to him now if you want," offered Albus.

"You swear?" asked Harry.

"I promise Harry," said Albus in a gentle calming voice.

Harry suddenly stepped out into sight just behind Albus, "He's okay? Really?"

"He's fine," said Albus turning to the young boy. He could see that Harry was extremely upset by the tear streaks on his cheeks. "Take my hand."

Harry reluctantly took Albus' hand only to vanish and reappear outside of a large iron gate.

"Come along Harry," said Albus leading the way.

Harry followed along calmly but having a knife in hand and at the ready.

Albus lead him inside and to the hospital wing to the peacefully sleeping Naruto. As soon as Harry saw him he ran as fast as he could to his cousin's side to check him over.

"He's just sleeping Harry," said Albus.

"What happened to him?" asked Harry quite a bit calmer now.

"You know about his prisoner?" asked Albus.

"The dumb fox? What did it do?" asked Harry.

"Naruto's wand and glove had a unique interaction when it came in contact with the fox in Naruto. As a result his entire Magical Core or as you would say Chakra System was destroyed and rebuilt to better manage the fox's chakra," explained Albus as simply as possible.

"So will he be a lot stronger or just a little?" asked Harry, "Because that fox was supposed to be super strong."

"He currently has more magic than he will know what do to with. I must warn you to be careful with Naruto. He will probably have some control issues for a while until he gets used to it," explained Albus.

Harry though just smirked, "Just give us the two weeks in that forest out there and he'll be fine."

Albus raised a curious eyebrow, "Whatever do you mean Harry?"

"We have some things we can do to redevelop his control very quickly," said Harry, "Ojisan said that something might happen when he came into contact with your magic."

"And why didn't he tell me as much?" asked Albus slightly annoyed.

"He wasn't sure if it would happen so he didn't want to worry you unnecessarily," Harry said, "I'm just glad he didn't die from it. That much chakra exhaustion can kill you know."

Albus just sighed. These two were turning into a rather large handful and the term had not even begun. "Harry, I cannot just allow the pair of you to go into the forest unsupervised. There are dangers in there that I do not wish either of you to be subjected to at such a young age."

"We can handle it," protested Harry.

"I cannot allow it, we will have to find another way," said Albus ending all possibility of future discussion on the matter.

"Fine," said Harry before he looked concentrated, "What if we stayed in the castle and you went with us to the forest for a few hours a day?"

"You're not going to give up on this are you?" asked Albus.

"No," said Harry simply crossing his arms.

"So be it, I, however, will not be able to accompany you. One of my staff will go in my stead," said Albus with a heavy sigh.

"Not safe," said Harry, "You're risking letting out our past. It has to be you, we got orders to follow."

Albus sighed again.

"You could always trust us to go alone," said Harry knowing he had Dumbledore cornered.

"Very well, I will accompany you both myself," said Dumbledore with a sigh seeing no other way. For if it ever got out to the public what exactly these two children were he would be finished and an even larger war would be likely to ensue enveloping the whole world.

"Good, then we can start as soon as Naruto wakes up," said Harry with a Cheshire grin that spoke volumes of the kind of trouble these two would soon be involved in.

"Harry, we must wait until . . ."

"School starts in two weeks, if he is as messed up as you say he is he's going to need every bit of time available to him to get control of his chakra," said Harry not giving the headmaster the slightest chance to argue, "That for everyone's sake."

Albus sighed once more, he was being forced to into taking on Madam Pomfrey for these boys, it was something that in all his years he'd rarely done because he so feared the repercussions. It is a little known fact that when Poppy Pomfrey attended Hogwarts she was such a prankster that she put the combined efforts of the Marauders to complete and utter shame. Some of Albus' own friends after teaching even remembered her and would often complain of the flashbacks they suffered from teaching her before they all passed away.

"So be it Harry," said Albus with a slight shuttered at what was to come now.

Harry just smiled as he watched Dumbledore march as with his head held high towards the office. Once the office door there was a few moments of silence followed shortly thereafter by a loud screech of anger and disbelieve which was then followed up with a rather long rant.

After a while Dumbledore exited the office with slumped shoulders and a resigned feeling. He approached Harry slowly as though trying to build up courage once more, "Poppy has agreed . . . however . . . she insists that he return here at least five times a day for a thorough examination."

"What?" demanded Harry, "Do you have any idea how much time that will waste? That could waste hours, that just won't do, go back and you tell her it's not going to work. We'll just skip out if we have to."

Dumbledore's shoulders slumped once more as he ventured back to Poppy's office.

Harry couldn't help chuckling to himself. This ojisan was way too easy to manipulate.

Dumbledore came back a short while later and offered them two check-ups a day, before and after. Harry agreed to that but still had to feign displeasure or Dumbledore would have been onto his game.

Finally Harry settled down onto the cot next to Naruto's and fell asleep to await the next day and hopefully Naruto's awakening.

**BREAK**

Naruto was not feeling on top of his game. Those two magical items really messed him up. It felt as though his insides had been burned out and then left to smolder for several long hours. When he did come too he wasn't feeling too great about it. He was in a dimly lit corridor with a good two inches of standing water.

"What the hell?" asked one peeved little boy as he sat up sorely.

Looking around Naruto could see nothing but an endless corridor of pipes and standing water. So Naruto stood and followed the only string of lights in hopes of finding an exit.

Finally after what felt like hours Naruto found himself before a well lit giant gate with a single sheet of paper reading 'seal' holding it closed.

"Bastard child," yelled an enraged voice from inside the cage as it clawed and slammed against the cage trying to break free, "How dare you come here? How dare you come face me after defiling me in such a way?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Naruto staring in awe of the Kyubi. He was now no longer any bigger than Naruto and could easily slip through the bars except for the fact that every time he tried he slammed hard into an invisible barrier.

"You defiled me, look at what **I**, the greatest of the Youkai have been reduced to," snarled the angry fox.

"I thought you'd be bigger," said Naruto scratching his head only managing to piss of the fox even more.

"I was until you came and fucked with me," howled the angry fox, "How dare you show your face here after what you did to me?"

"What did I do again?" asked Naruto.

"You've reduced my magnificent stature to that of a child," yelled the angry fox.

"How did I do that?"

"Those . . . _things_," growled Kyubi looking at the glove and wand pointedly.

"Still don't get it," said Naruto scratching his head.

Kyubi just growled and slammed into the cage again harder than before, "you wretched boy, if only I could kill you."

"But you can't, so instead of getting all pissed of, why don't you tell me exactly what I did to piss you off so much," suggested Naruto, "Because clearly I still don't understand."

"Those items, pieces of my worldly existence, forced my body to bind to yours more than this seal could ever have. We now share the same chakra," said Kyubi, "and as a result you turned me into but a kit again."

"So, you're like really weak now?" asked Naruto.

"No fool, I am still Kyubi but I now joined emotionally and physically to you because you have bonded with those items."

"So, I'm like really strong now? Does this mean I'll look like a fox?"

"Idiot," screamed Kyubi, "Your chakra is more potent and far deadlier than before but it is also completely uncontrolled. You will have to learn to control . . . _our_ . . . chakra again."

"Cool, but what about the fox part?" asked Naruto.

This time Kyubi bang his head into the wall several times in frustration, "No, I would never allow you to look like one as grand as myself. I would never give away my appearance or physical strengths to you."

"What about the whisker marks then?" asked Naruto.

"I just wanted the villagers to have some reminder that I'm still in here and I will have my revenge," howled Kyubi this time laugh maniacally.

"Right, so did you make me look like a fox?"

Kyubi's howl stopped and he fell over with a sweat drop. "Only your eyes, you cannot possibly hope to control and use my power if you cannot see properly."

"No, not my blue eyes," screamed Naruto in horror.

"Baka yaro," mumbled Kyubi, "You're eye color did not change foolish brat. Only your pupil shape."

"They're still blue," perked up Naruto quickly forgetting his wailing, "Quick, give me a mirror."

Kyubi returned to banging his head into the wall.

"Never mind, I can see my reflection in the water," said Naruto studying his face and eyes. They were indeed fox-like now but his beautiful cerulean blue shined through clearly. Naruto sighed in relief, "Oh thank Kami."

It was then Naruto noticed Kyubi banging his head into the wall, "Hey, baka-Kitsune, why are you banging your head into the wall?"

"I'm trying to make myself stupider so you can understand me," said Kyubi just dripping with sarcasm.

"Can I help?" asked Naruto with a grin at the thought of getting a bit of revenge for his father and mother.

"No," yelled Kyubi angry with the brat.

"So, why am I here exactly?" asked Naruto finally.

Kyubi studied Naruto for a bit . . . well . . . more glared at Naruto before turning away and sighing, "I don't know but your stench is beginning to bother me."

"Hey, I don't stink, it must be you," said Naruto pointing an accusing finger at the fox.

"All humans stink to a fox," said Kyubi annoyed.

"So, is that why you attacked Konoha?" asked Naruto.

Kyubi narrowed his eyes and looked closely at Naruto, "I was hungry."

Naruto just swallowed and paled a bit, "You were hungry?"

"I don't eat often, Konoha just happened to be the closest all you can eat buffet to where I was at the time," said Kyubi with a fond grin, "I would have preferred some smaller village honestly. Shinobi tend to get stuck in my teeth because of all their weapons and armor."

Naruto really paled this time but then his resolved suddenly returned, "Fine, if it was just a meal to you then it's time for you to pay your bill."

"And how do you suggest I do that?" asked Kyubi.

"Chakra," said Naruto.

"Baka, you already have instant access to all of my chakra," said Kyubi shaking his head at the boy's stupidity.

"I do?" asked Naruto.

"We've already been over this. That glove and wand bonded you to me. It destroyed your chakra pathways and replaced them with one comparable to my own," yelled Kyubi angrily.

"Oh, well you still gotta pay up," said Naruto, "And we'll add rent to the list while we're at it."

Kyubi actually laughed, "You're dumb as a box of shit boy but you've got balls of titanium. I'll give you that."

"What's titanium?" asked Naruto as he scratched his head.

Kyubi just closed his eyes and answered through gritted teeth, "Very strong metal."

"Oh," said Naruto, "So, what can you pay me then?"

"You figure it out," said Kyubi settling down to nap.

"Okay, so chakra is pointless since I have all of it but what else could he give me?" asked Naruto out loud and to himself. "What could an old demon give me that I don't already have?"

Kyubi only half-listening/grumbling mumbled out loud, "I'm stuck in something with less intelligence than some damn monkey. He asks what a million year old demon with millions of years of knowledge and experience can give him when I'm stuck in some dumb ass cage."

Naruto though was listening very carefully to the Kyubi's mumbling, "Hey, now that's a good idea, you can teach me with your millions of years of knowledge and stuff."

Kyubi looked at Naruto again. Half of him wanted to start running his head into the wall again for being so stupid as to give away the answer. The other half of himself couldn't help but feel a bit of pride towards his vessel for tricking him like that.

"What could I possibly teach an imbecile like you?" asked Kyubi, "You're simply too stupid to learn anything from me."

"I am not," yelled Naruto, "I know I'm not smart but I'm not stupid. I can learn to do things but it just takes me a bit longer."

Kyubi narrowed his eyes once more, "Very well, I'll test you. You have two weeks to learn to control our chakra properly. If you can accomplish that I will give you something to learn. Master it in the time limit I set for you and I will teach you something else. If you ever fail to learn something I've set for you I will never again teach you anything. Do we have an agreement?"

Naruto considered it before nodding, "I agree."

"You'll come to regret that boy," said Kyubi as the room faded to black around Naruto.

Naruto was a bit slow to open his eyes and when he didn't he didn't like the blaringly clean white that seemed to surrounding.

"Naruto," yelled a voice only to familiar.

"Harry," shouted Naruto.

"You're alright then?" asked Harry concerned for his only family.

"Yeah, I'm good I think. I met the dumb fox," said Naruto.

"So do you know what's happening then?"

"My chakra system right?" asked Naruto, "Kyubi and I made a deal. I learn to control my chakra again and in two weeks he'll teach me something."

"Really?" asked Harry, "You'll teach me too won't you?"

"Of course," said Naruto with a grin, "But come on, we gotta hurry and get chakra under control again."

Harry then quickly explained to Naruto what the deal was with the hospital ward and everything that Harry had learned.

Naruto nodded with each bit of information.

"So go get the old lady and old man and let's get out of here already," said Naruto to his cousin.

Harry smiled and ran back towards the office to summon the healer. Things were about to get really interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"Why are we doing this again?" asked an impatient Harry to Hagrid as they walked through the train station.

"Dumbledore told you already. He wants you two to ride the train together to Hogwarts," explained the exasperated half-giant.

"But we were already at Hogwarts," protested Naruto.

"Yeah, we're wasting valuable training time," said Harry.

"There'll be plenty of time for that later," said Hagrid, "Now off with yeah." He then forcefully shoved them through the barrier wall.

"How rude!" exclaimed Naruto as he tumbled end over end having tripped over a cart that he didn't see because of the illusion.

Harry then helped his cousin stand again. It was then the duo realized they were surrounded by a large group of red heads. "Um . . . hi."

"Yo," said Naruto with a wave and a smile, "Sorry about that. Didn't see the cart."

"Think nothing of it dears," said the plump female red head, "First time to Hogwarts then?"

"Not exactly," said Naruto with a pout.

"But you are first years yes?" asked the woman.

"Yeah," said Harry not sure how to interact with this woman. Then he saw a young red head girl near his own age and suddenly all thought and words left him. Suddenly he was jerked away from the most beautiful sight that had ever befallen his eyes by Naruto.

"Come on Harry, let's get on the train and get a seat before they're all gone," Naruto then grabbed Harry's arm and rather than try and navigate between the crowd of red head he lightly leapt up an over the entire group before landing a few meters away and then sprinting towards the train with his cousin in tow.

"How'd they do that?" asked a pair of twins.

"Arthur, did that boy say Harry?" asked Molly to her husband.

"He's the spitting image of his father," said Arthur with a smile.

"Wait, Harry, as in Harry Potter?" asked Fred.

"The Harry Potter?" asked George.

"Defeater of you-know-who, Harry Potter?" asked Fred.

"The one and only boy who vanished the same night he defeated you-know-who?" asked George.

"Now you boys listen to me very carefully," said Molly in a very threatening voice, "You don't bother that boy. I don't want to hear anything about you bothering him at school. Because so help me if I find out . . ." She left the threat hanging knowing that her boys would probably not listen anyway but at least it would have it's effect on Ron and Percy.

"Mum, could I go see him again?" asked the littlest red head.

"Ginny dear, you'll see him next year at school," said Molly, "Come now, the train is leaving, on you get."

With that four children were ushered on to the train with a tearful good-bye from their mother.

Naruto and Harry though managed to secure a cabin to themselves. Harry sat down in kind of a daze as he thought of the red head girl he just met. Naruto though was busy with preparations. If anyone wanted to sit with them they would have to earn it the hard way. Namely the victim . . . err subject would have to survive one of their pranks in good humor.

Naruto was quickly making preparation expecting Harry to be doing the same thing. When Naruto looked to see Harry's progress he was surprised to see Harry sitting with a stupid expression on his face. Naruto waved a hand in front of Harry's face but received no response. Finally he pinched both of Harry's cheeks really hard which seemed to snap him out of it instantly because he punched Naruto in the face.

"Hey, that hurt," yelled Naruto once he stood up.

"What did you pinch me for?" demanded Harry shaking his fist at Naruto.

"You weren't paying attention, it's like you were dreaming while you were awake," said Naruto angry with his cousin.

Harry's eyes glazed over again, "I think I just met my future wife. Did you see her? She was so pretty with that fiery red hair and that cute little nose."

Naruto though just looked at his cousin in an odd way, "What's the matter with you?" Naruto finally screamed in frustration, "Snap out of it man. You can drool over her later, right now we've got work to do."

That seemed to snap Harry out of it, "I was not drooling." Then not so subtly he wiped the drool from his chin. Naruto just smirked. "Let's get to work already," said Harry trying to save what little image and dignity he had left.

Not much later they had their first victim . . . err . . . visitor. It was the red-headed twins they had seen earlier.

"Oi, we heard the blond say your name was Harry," said one red head.

"Yeah, you wouldn't be Harry Potter would you?" asked the other.

Naruto and Harry though were trying their best not to laugh at the twins who were now wear hot pink clothes.

Finally one twin looked at the other and shrieked pointing a finger at the other. The other twin then look at what he was pointing at and saw his clothes all turned hot pink. Then they both finally noticed the laughing Naruto and Harry.

"Fred dear brother," said one twin.

"George, I do believe we've just been pranked," said the twin now known as Fred.

"It would seem so," said George.

"Revenge?" asked Fred.

"I wouldn't recommend that," said Harry calming his laughing, "This was just our way of saying hello to anyone who might come to bother me about my stupid scar."

"Yeah, if we really wanted to prank you, you would never have known it was us that pulled the prank," said Naruto also calming his laughing.

"So would I be right," began Fred.

"To assume that you two," continued George.

"Are pranksters?" asked Fred.

The pair smiled the signature smile of a prankster, "Of course," they answered in unison.

"George, I think we have at last found partners in our so important life's work," said Fred.

"Fred, I do believe you're right," said George wiping away an imaginary tear.

"So, are you suggesting that we would work with you?" asked Harry with a grin.

"I was thinking more of a competition," said Fred with a grin.

"Competition?" asked Naruto with a grin, "Do tell?"

"One prank per week on an agreed upon target," said Fred.

"Best prank wins?" asked Harry.

"Rules?" asked Naruto.

"You lose instantly if you're caught," said Fred.

"No targeting innocents," said Harry.

"Define innocents," said George.

"People undeserving unless it is a school wide prank," said Naruto.

"Right, so pretty much fair game," said Fred.

"Pretty much," said Naruto with a grin.

"Judges?" asked George.

"Poppy Pomfrey," said Harry with a grin. In the two week period that Naruto and Harry had spent at Hogwarts they had gotten to know Poppy quite well after they pranked her just once. After that if became a prank war between them. At the end of the two weeks they ended up calling a truce.

"Madam Pomfrey?" asked George.

"Yep, trust us, we've gotten to know her this weak. She'll be a great judge based on how long it takes her to reverse whatever we've done to the subject," said Harry with a grin.

"Fair enough," said George with a serious nod.

"Well then gentlemen. I believe the only thing that remains for our little encounter is proper introductions," said Fred.

"Harry Potter," Harry said holding out his hand to shake theirs as Dumbledore had taught them.

"Kazama Naruto," said Naruto holding out his hand the same as Harry.

"Naruto Kazama," Harry corrected him.

"Oh, right, Naruto Kazama," said Naruto trying again.

"Gred Weasley," said Fred offering his hand.

"Forge Weasley," said George offering his hand.

"Please to meet you," said Naruto and Harry with a grin at their first friends/rivals.

"Well now, we need to go see some of our other friends," said Fred.

"Do you want us to put your clothes back?" asked Harry before they left.

"Are you kidding me?" asked George.

"We're considering turning our robes the same color for the welcoming feast," said Fred.

George then stepped into the hall, "Oi, Ron, stopped fooling around in the hall and come sit in here."

"What happened to your clothes?" asked the red head boy who looked to be around their age.

"We made some new friends," said Fred joining his brother in the hall, "Now you go do the same. He then forcefully shoved Ron into the room turning his clothes pink.

"Argh," complained Ron seeing his new appearance before he saw the two boys laughing at his misfortune, "It's not funny."

"Yes it is," said Harry through his laughter.

"So how come they didn't get you too?" asked the Ron.

"We got them," said Naruto before he moved his hands quickly in a way that wasn't familiar to Ron causing his clothes to turn back to normal.

"Have a seat with us," said Harry motioning to the open seat.

"Thanks," said Ron shyly, "I'm Ron Weasley."

"Naruto Kazama and that's my cousin Harry Potter and so help me if you stare at his scar you'll be receiving a prank everyday for the rest of your life," said Naruto defensive of his only family.

"So you really are Harry Potter?" asked Ron trying his hardest not to look at the scar.

"Yeah, don't mind Naruto. He's just protective," said Harry showing him the scar.

"Do you remember it?" asked Ron.

Naruto just looked at him pointedly.

"Just a bright green light," said Harry, "I don't remember much else about it, not that I'd want to."

"Right, sorry I asked," said Ron, "Sometimes I'm just stupid about that kind of thing."

"Meh," said Naruto waving it off, "Just don't bring it up again and we're cool."

"Yeah, so tell us about your family, they look really interesting," said Harry excitedly.

"Yeah, are they all wizards?" asked Naruto.

Ron smiled, "Yeah, they are. I think we have a cousin that is an accountant but we don't talk about that."

"What about your other family members?" asked Harry trying not to be obvious to Ron.

"He wants to know about your sister," said Naruto pointedly earning him a glare from Harry.

"Ginny?" asked Ron.

"Is that her name?" asked Harry trying to hide his excitement.

"Yeah, she the youngest of us," said Ron.

"How young?" asked Naruto.

"Only year younger than me," said Ron, "Why do you want to know?"

"Harry says she's going to be his future wife," said Naruto with a snicker causing Harry to turn red with embarrassment and Ron to turn red with anger.

"Oi, that's my sister you," said Ron hotly, "You keep away from her you here me."

"Relax Ron," said Naruto putting a hand on his shoulder, "She's not going to do much better than the famous Harry Potter."

Ron seemed torn, "Fine but you'd better be nice to her."

To any normal person this conversation would have been very amusing but to those involved it was quite serious. Little did they know the consequences of that conversation that would come to pass in the future.

"Anyway, on to more important things," said Naruto.

"Yeah, do you like pranks?" asked Harry.

"They're okay I guess," said Ron, "My brothers always pull them on me."

"Well, would you like to turn the tables on them for a change?" asked Harry with a grin.

"You serious?" asked Ron not daring to believe.

"Of course we are," said Naruto, "We need some accomplices in our little competition with your brothers."

"Competition?" asked Ron.

Naruto and Harry both grinned widely before launching into an explanation of the competition.

"Wicked," said Ron with a distant look in his eyes.

"So are we to believe that you'd be interested in joining in on the festivities?" asked Harry with a grin.

"I'm in," said Ron excitedly.

Sadly or humorously depending on how you look at it someone decided that then was a good time to interrupt.

A girl their age with bushy brown hair entered the cabin with a rather haughty expression on her face. "Have any of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one."

The three shook their heads in the negative trying not to laugh. The girl just turned and left the cabin completely oblivious to her now hot pink robes.

Naruto though just began counting down on his fingers from three . . . two . . . one . . . SHREEK!

At that all three began to laugh uncontrollably just waiting for the girl to come storming back down the hall demanding that they undo whatever they did. Like clockwork the door slammed open, "What did you do to me?"

The three just smile brightly trying not to laugh.

"Sorry," said Naruto finally, "Just a little joke to break the ice with people we're meeting today."

"Now worries," said Harry with a smile running his hands really fast so the other couldn't see what he was doing, "It's just a small illusion." Suddenly the color the girl vanished.

"Was that magic?" asked the girl curiously completely forgetting the incident ever occurred in the first place.

"Maybe," said Naruto with an impish grin.

"Could you teach me?" asked the girl.

Naruto and Harry both sighed looking down, "We're not supposed to teach it to anyone."

"Oh, well I'm Hermione," said the girl hopeful.

"Harry," said Naruto pointing to his cousin.

"Naruto," said Harry pointing to the other.

Then they both pointed at Ron, "Ron."

"Pleased to meet you," said Hermione with a small smile.

"Want to sit with us?" asked Naruto with a friendly smile. He was probably the only person to see the slight red tinge at the tips of Ron's ears when he first saw her.

"Oh, I would but I must really try to help find that missing toad," said Hermione slightly upset.

"Well, come back if you ever find it. If anyone annoys you just tell they really should come say hello to us," said Harry.

"Yeah, and if they annoy us we won't undo the illusion," said Naruto.

"Oh, before I go, you really should change into school robes now," said Hermione before she bustled off on her search.

Once the door shut Naruto looked at Ron with a predatory look, "So Ron, what did you think of the fare Hermione?"

Ron blushed slightly before recovering with a bit of an indignant look, "She a bit of menace don't you think?"

"I don't know, I thought she was kind of cute," said Naruto, "Give her a few years and she'll be a real knockout."

"I think you're right Naruto," said Harry catching on to his cousin's game.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ron trying to feign ignorance, "So do either of you play Quidditch?"

"Huh?" asked the pair at the same time.

Ron just looked at them incredulously before he started describing the game to them and all its little intricacies. Soon enough both Naruto and Harry were hooked and couldn't wait to start flying on brooms.

Finally the train came to a halt and someone went through the train telling students to get off.

Harry and Naruto followed along with Ron.

"Firs' Years' over 'ere," bellowed the familiar voice of Hagrid.

"Hey, it's Black Beard," said Naruto to Harry and Ron.

Harry and Ron quickly turned to see Hagrid coming.

"Hey Black Beard," said Harry with a smile.

"Hello you two have a good trip I hope?" asked Hagrid slightly exasperated with the pair.

"Great," said Naruto, "Black Beard, meet Ron, Ron, meet Black Beard."

Ron just gaped at the man before him.

"The name is Rubeus Hagrid," said Hagrid sternly, "Now come along you lot."

Soon all the first years were put on their boat's three each. When Naruto stepped in the boat he noticed it sink slightly deeper than it probably should have.

"Hey, Harry," whispered Naruto sharply getting his cousin's attention, "too much weight for the boats alone."

Harry nodded in understanding as he stepped in and began channeling chakra into it to keep it at the same level.

Once they were all in the boat they set off across the lake by magic.

Soon enough the entire group of first years was standing before a rather stern looking woman.

"I am your deputy headmistress Minerva McGonagall. In a few moments you will enter through these doors and you will be sorted into houses. While you are here your houses will be like you family. Good behavior will earn your house points while any rule breaking will result in points being taken away," said the woman in a harsh voice.

"She makes Iruka-sensei seem friendly," whispered Naruto to Harry who snorted slightly earning them both a very stern glare from the teacher.

She vanished only for a minute before returning to escort them all inside. The halls were lined with students. At the front of the room stood a stool with an old worn hat.

"When I call your name you will come up and place the hat on your head," said the teacher with a small smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

"There is a talking hat," said Naruto to Harry after the whole long speech.

"I know," said Harry in an equal state of shock.

"But it's a hat," said Naruto with a bit more emphasis.

"I noticed," said Harry.

"But a hat, I mean really," said Naruto.

"Naruto, I know, it's a talking hat, but how is that any different from everything else we've seen here," said Harry.

At that Naruto just shrugged.

"Naruto Kazama," called the old lady.

Naruto jumped to the front . . . literally right over top of the crowd blocking his path.

"I really need to talk to him more about subtly," said Harry shaking his head.

"Ah, let's see," spoke a voice in Naruto's head.

"Oh this is just great, now I've more voices in my head?" asked Naruto to himself.

"More voices?" questioned the new voice.

"**He means me,**" said Kyubi.

Suddenly Naruto found himself standing in the halls of his mind outside the Kyubi's cage and more than that there was someone else there. He was a tall man in long flowing robe of red and gold.

"Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?" demand Naruto upon seeing the intruder.

"I am the sorting hat that is currently upon your head, though I can't say as I've ever manifest myself in such a way before," said the man.

"Do you have a name at least? I feel kind of funny calling you 'sorting hat'," said Naruto calmly.

"You may call me 'G'," said the man.

"Okay G, what are you doing here exactly?" asked Naruto.

"I am trying to look through your mind to find where you would best be suited," explained G.

"Ah, well, what do you think?" asked Naruto.

"You have a great amount of ambition in you," said G, "I would think Slytherin would be good for you."

"**You put us in the house where the patron beast is the snake and I will defecate in that hat**," said Kyubi hotly from behind his bars.

"Yeah," said Naruto awkwardly, "The fox doesn't really like snakes very much."

"I can see that," said G slightly fearful of being used as a toilet.

"So, I guess anywhere but Slytherin will work," said Naruto.

"Well, you don't have the mind for Ravenclaw though you're not stupid. You are loyal to a fault but your ambitions are too great for Hufflepuff. I think Gryffindor would suit you nicely," said G.

"Great, now get the hell out of my head," screamed Naruto causing him to return to the real world. Unfortunately his scream carried over to the real world so everyone heard him yell.

"GRYFFINDOR!" called out the hat trying to break the uncomfortable silence of the room which was met by an odd silence.

Naruto laughed sheepishly before jumping from the stool and taking a quick seat at Gryffindor table next to the twins who were still hot pink.

McGonagall looked to Albus for only a moment before he nodded for her to continue.

Eventually Harry went up and was sorted into Gryffindor after it looked like Harry was arguing with the hat for a good while.

Finally the sorting came to an end and Harry sat next to his cousin, "The nerve of that stupid hat trying to put me in a different house than you."

"The fox wasn't happy when the hat suggested I be put into Slytherin. I mean, could you imagine a fox bearing the symbol of a snake," said Naruto as though it was common sense.

"So what was that all about Naruto?" asked one of the twins.

"Stupid hat pissed me off," said Naruto, "I mean the nerve of him just entering into my head."

"Well, that's usually the way it's done," said Fred.

"Like I care, isn't it like invasion of privacy or something?" asked Naruto.

"Really," added Harry for emphasis.

The conversation was then interrupted by Dumbledore, "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. I'll save the speech for later as I am sure you're all ready to eat. So, without further ado, enjoy." Dumbledore then raised his hands with a flourish causing the food to grow right up out of the table.

Naruto though was keenly eyeing the entire table, "You'd think with all this variety they'd have ramen too."

"Just give it up Naruto, this country is severely lacking in culinary arts," said Harry with a heavy sigh.

Naruto finally settled on a chicken leg, "It's so bland."

"What's with you people?" asked an annoyed Harry as he picked at the bland English food.

Ron though didn't pay the slightest bit of attention as he devoured everything presented to him.

"Oi, you two," said Naruto pointing at the twins, "Where's the damn kitchen?"

"Do my ears deceive me or are you two already up to trouble?" asked George with a grin.

"Indeed Forge, I think they are," said Fred.

"Just tell us where the damn kitchen is," said Harry, "We need to have a discussion with the cooks."

"Well . . ." said George with a pause looking towards the head table, "Quickly, follow us." Fred and George then quickly darted out of the Great Hall and into the passageways that made Hogwarts great.

Naruto and Harry didn't hesitate to follow the pair through the winding halls memorizing every detail of the layout.

"Now, through this door is the kitchen where are the house elves are," said George.

"They love nothing more than to serve people. It makes them happy," said Fred.

"Now, don't go pissing them off or they might cut us off," said George rather seriously.

Naruto and Harry just nodded before entering the kitchen.

"Oi, who is in charge in here," yelled Naruto before the door even closed causing Fred and George to cringe.

Fred and George beat a hasty return to the Great Hall and reclaimed their seats. The strange thing was that suddenly all the food and silverware on the tables vanished without a trace only to be replaced with bowls of the same exact soup and a pair of wooden sticks in front of everyone. They both suddenly had a very bad feeling that things were going to go very wrong at this point.

The door to the hall banged open loudly to reveal Naruto and Harry walking in proudly with giant grins on their faces. They happily took their seats in front of their bowls took up their wooden sticks and together said, "Itadakimas!" before ravenously devouring their soups one after another until they had both stacked up nearly twenty bowls each.

Neither of them noticed nor cared about the looks they were receiving from every student and staff member.

"Oi, Old man," yelled Naruto looking at Dumbledore, "We've eaten, you can start your speech thingy now."

With that everyone's jaws dropped noticeably.

"Hey, Naruto," said Harry as he looked around, "Their not eating their ramen."

"What?" yelled Naruto looking around, "What the hell is wrong with you people? Don't you know a culinary artwork when you see it? Eat up before it goes cold."

Again the room was stunned by the audacity of these two youths.

Dumbledore finally came out of his stupor, "Well, it would seem there has been a slight change in the menu this evening. Everyone, please eat up and enjoy this foreign delight." If only he knew exactly what the pair had done in the kitchen he would never have said anything.

Eventually people began eating the ramen slowly at first but then increasingly quickly as some fell in love with the divine food, even Dumbledore stacked up a few bowls.

"Damn, I love it when we're right," said Harry with a cheeky grin to his cousin, "I think I'm ready for another round of ramen, you?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

Harry shrugged before digging in to his second helping of twenty bowls of ramen noodles.

Finally the meal came to an end with Dumbledore giving a predictable speech about what not to do and where not to go which Naruto and Harry specifically made notes to pay a visit to if not more than one.

Naruto and Harry were up earlier than the rest of the dorm as they usually were and went outside for their normal workout. During the time they had spent at the castle retraining Naruto's chakra control Dumbledore had resigned himself to creating an area for the pair to practice their art without being seen by anyone.

"So, what do you think of the others?" asked Harry as he ducked a particularly nasty round-house kick to his head from Naruto.

"They seem alright," said Naruto as he continued his assault on Harry.

"Well, at least they aren't threats," said Harry launching into a counter offensive.

"Yeah, that's true," said Naruto dodging and countering as the pair circled each other. They both had studied Kazama-Ka from the scroll for years now and were almost to a point where they had begun to make the art into their own style using the forms presented.

Harry tended to favor a faster movement that was more defensive than offensive while Naruto favored power and attack over defense. As a result the pair would often work in tandem together against a large group of shadow clones perfecting their teamwork. After sparring each other for a solid hour they would turn to this tactic for at least one hour or more unless they had some specific skill they wanted to work on.

"Hey, we better get going if we're going to make it to class on time," said Naruto checking his pocket watch. Both Harry and Naruto decided to go with a pocket watch as it would be better protected if it was close to their body as opposed to their wrist and forearms that were constantly in use for defense and offense when fighting.

"Yeah, and we have to change into those crappy robes too," said Harry with a frown.

"I'm just going to wear my shinobi standard with the robe over top of it like ANBU do," said Naruto with a grin.

"Yeah, we can leave the front open too so we don't get too hot," added Harry nodding along with his cousin.

"Come on let's go," said Naruto as he began to run up the side of the castle towards their common room with Harry hot on his tail. They were just lucky that no one spotted them running up the wall or Dumbledore would have had a lot of trouble explaining how they came to know such abilities, especially when the ministry had outlawed the teaching of such due to their common application by thieves and assassins.

Naruto and Harry raced happily along smiling and laughing as they scuffled a little along the way trying to get ahead of the other person. Finally Naruto won by getting through the window first much to the surprise of the only awake dorm mate, one Neville Longbottom.

"Where were you two?" asked the nervous boy.

"Wreaking havoc," said Naruto.

"Causing trouble," added Harry with a grin.

"You know, generally mayhem," said Naruto pealing off his sweaty shirt and weights dropping them to the floor with a loud thud.

Neville though looked unsure of what to say or do as he watched the pair. He was stunned by how candid they were but even more so to see that they had the bodies of teenagers as opposed to eleven year olds. And then there was the odd thud of the clothing when it hit the floor.

Once Naruto and Harry were out of sight and in the showers Neville decided to investigate. He approached the clothing with a bit of trepidation. He grabbed hold of the shirt and it felt normal enough . . . then he tried to lift it up . . . it didn't happen. Neville then took hold with his other hand and tried to yank it up off the ground but once again was stopped and not by magic but by sheer weight. The clothes must have weighed more than a hundred pounds.

Naruto entered the dorm he was only wearing his frog boxers and drying his hair. However upon looking up, he saw Neville trying with all his might to lift the weights. "Oi, what are you doing?"

Neville was startled and let go of the clothes only to tumble end over end backwards in his pajamas. "Sorry," Neville mumbled sheepishly not looking at Naruto.

"You could hurt yourself," said Naruto checking over Neville not really caring about the weights, "You're not trained to carry that kind of weight around."

"Why . . . why do you wear it?" asked Neville curiously.

"It helps you get stronger and faster," said Harry entering the dorm with his towel around his waste with another scrubbing at his untamable hair.

"Really?" asked Neville, "But why do you want that?"

"Voldemort still wants to kill me right?" asked Harry ignoring Neville's gasp, "I have no intention of making it easy for him. In fact, if I ever get the chance I'll kill him myself."

Neville was looking at Harry with wide eyes in shock at what he heard Harry say.

"Yeah, and I gotta make sure Harry stays alive long enough to do it," added Naruto picking up his discarded shirt and pants as though they were nothing at all.

"You want to kill him?" asked Neville, "I thought . . . I thought he was already dead?"

"Eh, it's questionable," said Harry as he collected his own clothing, "The old dude Dumbledore says that Voldemort isn't really dead but he isn't really alive either."

"Really?" asked Neville looking down in concentration before looking at the pair cautiously, "Do you think . . . do you think that maybe . . . maybe you could teach me?"

"Teach you what?" asked Naruto.

"To wear weights like that?" asked Neville shyly.

"Sure," said Harry, "But you can't just wear the weights, you gotta train too."

"Train?" asked Neville with a swallow.

"Yep, train," said Naruto with a grin, "It's really tough too, but if you really want to we'll teach you a bit but if you start you can never quit."

"Never?" asked Neville nervously.

"Never," said Naruto and Harry together.

"Okay, I'll . . . I'll do it," said Neville stealing himself for what was to come.

"Cool," said Naruto, "But you have to promise, whatever we show you, you can never tell anyone else about it."

"Especially Dumbledore," said Harry, "He'd be furious if he found out we were showing other people what we know."

"Yeah," said Naruto, "Do we have a deal?"

Neville nodded before standing up finally and offering his hand to them.

Naruto and Harry each shook his hand and grinned. Poor Neville didn't know what he was getting himself into.

"Great, we start tomorrow at 4:00 am," said Harry finally starting to dress himself.

Naruto carefully extracted the chain mesh that was lining the shirt he wore earlier. Once it was out Neville saw several paper tags pressed on it with a strange symbol printed on it that he didn't recognize.

"So, what are those?" asked Neville pointing to the paper tags.

"Oh, these are weight tags," said Naruto, "They are bit expensive but there is no better material for weight training."

"How to they work?" asked Neville curiously.

"Each tag has magic sown into the writing to create the pull of gravity, it is set up so there is one hundred pounds of extra weight in each tag so your body has to work to compensate for it," explained Naruto as best he knew how. Mostly he was just quoting what the Kazama scroll said about them.

Neville though lost concentration when Naruto said one hundred pounds of extra weight. He then counted six tags just on Naruto shirt and another four on the legs, "One hundred pounds?"

"Yeah, but Harry only uses fifty pound tags," said Naruto, "I think we'll start you with one of those."

"Yeah, I was going to replace one of mine later this week with a hundred pound tag, I guess I can just do it now," said Harry forming a few quick seals and touching one of his tags causing it to float lightly to the ground. Harry then replaced it with another tag from his trunk.

"Here," said Naruto thrusting a chain mesh shirt into Neville's hands, "Put it on."

Neville nodded nervously before slipping it over his head, it was bit small on him but it didn't prevent him from moving at all.

"I know it's a bit small but you are bigger than us," said Naruto sheepishly.

"Besides, no one will see it with your clothes and once you get started with this you'll lose a lot of weight and it will start to fit you more comfortably," added Harry trying to reassure Neville.

Neville nodded, "What about the tag?"

"Brace yourself," said Harry before he slapped the weight on Neville's back pumping in a bit of chakra to activate it.

Neville instantly sagged forward with the extra weight.

"It'll be tough for the first week," said Naruto with a reassuring smile, "But it will get easier, I promise."

"Yeah, and we never break our promises," said Harry with an equally reassuring smile.

"Now, get dressed and lets go to breakfast," said Naruto with a jovial smile as he slipped the rest of his gear on. He put on a simple black utility vest with a few pockets and orange shoulders. He put on his comfortable and loose black pants that allowed for full range of motion. After that he strapped his weapon's pouch to his leg and slipped on his black sandals. He slung his forehead protector around his neck proudly. Finally he put on his black school robes but left them open in the front. Naruto's golden locks stuck up in all directions as it always did in his youth. He kept it trimmed short and out of his eyes. His eyes looked as amazing as Harry's do, the vibrant blue; however, the slit pupil gave him a slightly animalistic look that was only accentuated by the whisker like scars on his face.

Harry looked much the same except that he wore a dark red vest with green pockets. He had his hair cropped short and sticking up in every which way. The scar on his head daring anyone to stare at, which his vibrant green eyes clearly commanded otherwise.

"Wait for me," said Neville struggling slightly to keep up with them as they walked calmly through the halls towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

Naruto and Harry sat down to two heaping plates of fruit and vegetables and ate them unhappily. Neville followed suit and ate the same as them, after all they had to be doing something right to be as strong as they were.

After a bit McGonagall came along and passed out their class schedules.

"So we have Potions first," said Neville trying to create conversation.

"Cool, so we learn like poisons and antidotes and stuff right?" asked Naruto with a mouth full of half-chewed apple.

"Not at first," said Neville, "We learn simple things first and then get onto more complicated stuff in later years, like poisons."

"Oh man, do we learn anything interesting?" whined Harry as he surveyed his plate of fruit and vegetables for his next target for assassination.

"Well, I heard Charms is really neat," said Neville sheepishly.

"Morning," said Ron with a yawn as he sat with the group and piled his plate high with bacon, eggs, and sausage before digging in heartily.

"Morning Ron," said the group in response.

"What do we have first?" asked Ron with a full mouth much like Naruto did.

"Potions," supplied Naruto helpfully.

Ron suddenly turned pale and pushed his plate away.

"What's wrong?" asked Harry noticing this behavior.

"Snape teaches potions," said Ron, "He hates all Gryffindor's."

"So what," said Naruto, "Just deal with it and ignore him if he's such a prick."

"Yeah, just concentrate on the work and then prank him later when you can't get in trouble for it," said Harry helpfully.

Ron suddenly brightened up at that prospect, "Would you help me?"

"Of course," said Naruto, "It's what we do."

Ron pulled his plate back to him and began gorging himself again as when he'd first arrived.

"Always remember, if you need to placate Ron, just feed him," said Naruto with a grin.

"Always remember, if you need to placate Harry or Naruto just feed them Ramen," said a newcomer.

"Morning Brains," said Naruto as the bushy haired girl sat with them.

Hermione just raised her eyebrow in question at Naruto.

"Morning Brains," said Harry with a grin, "Welcome to breakfast."

"Thank you," said Hermione with a grin.

"Morning Brains," said Neville joining in and smiling, "Help yourself, plenty to eat you know."

Hermione laughed this time, "Am I to believe that all of you will be calling me 'Brains' from now on?"

"We only give nicknames to people we like or hate, luckily, we like you," said Naruto.

"What about me?" Ron asked hopeful for a cool nickname like saber or some other such cool name.

"Haven't picked out a name yet, but don't worry, we will," said Harry with a devious grin.

"Yeah, it'll just come to us," said Naruto. "What are you afraid of?" Naruto suddenly asked.

Ron paled a bit. "I don't . . . I don't like . . . spiders," he whispered at the end.

Naruto grinned, "Well then, we dub you 'Spider'."

"What?" yelled Ron, "Why? That's not fair."

"Ron, think for a minute, if you can accept that which you fear the most you'll never be afraid again," said Naruto, "Take me for instance, I am terrified of a very certain fox. A fox that took everything from me, but here I am, the Kitsune among the Leaves."

"Kitsune means fox," said Hermione knowledgably, "I read that a long time ago."

"Exactly," said Naruto with a smile, "It is part of me now. I am Kitsune to my friends."

"So, you like, aren't afraid anymore?" asked Naruto.

"Of course I'm still afraid," said Naruto, "If you lose your fear you are doomed to make stupid mistakes that might cost you your life. You should never lose your fear, however, you should learn to act in the face of your fear."

"He's right," said Harry with a smile at his cousin's speech. Harry and Naruto knew each other so well and would always know each other really well. Harry saw it so often where the natural leader in Naruto would shine through, where his words would inspire loyalty and courage to others. It was for that reason that Harry would always follow Naruto's lead. Harry was a leader in his own way but he wasn't inspirational like Naruto was and would always be. Little did Harry know that Naruto always thought the same of him.

"So, I'm Spider?" asked Ron with a bit of courage.

"Only if you want to be," said Harry with a smile.

"I am Spider," said Ron however this time is wasn't a question.

"So, Naruto is Kitsune, Ron is Spider, I'm Brains, what about you and Neville?" asked Hermione taking out a notebook and writing down the information.

Harry saw her writing and quickly burned the page, "Never put information that you don't want other to have in writing. Written words can be stolen. Learn to memorize things the first time you hear or read them. It will help you in the future. As for my name, isn't it obvious?" He then pointed to his head.

"Lightning?" asked Hermione.

"Bolt?" asked Neville.

"Raiu," said Harry with a smirk.

"What's that mean?" Neville asked.

"Thunderstorm," said Harry.

"Yeah, he kind of has this thing with electricity," said Naruto with a bit of a shiver.

"And fire," said Harry, "Let's not forget fire."

"And fire," said Naruto with another shiver.

Harry then snapped his fingers causing a small flame to hover over his hand.

"Cool," said Neville, "You've got to teach me that."

"I don't really know how I do it," said Harry with a laugh, "I just sort of do."

Naruto though was mumbling something about 'stupid gloves' while Harry laughed. Naruto had been the unfortunate victim of Harry's first use of the glove.

"So what about me, do I get a name?" asked Neville excitedly.

"Patience," said Harry, "We haven't known you long enough to come up with a name for you yet."

"Oh," said Neville disappointed.

"Yeah, give us a least a few hours," said Naruto, "We always come through."

"Oh no, we should go, class starts in an hour and I don't want to get lost," said Hermione looking at the clock.

Naruto, Harry, Ron, and Neville all looked at Hermione in shock.

"Well, I guess we could go early," said Ron trying not to blush.

This earned him a smile from Hermione and a glare from the other boys and a light elbow to the ribs from Naruto.

"Thank you Ron, at least you are responsible," said Hermione standing and walking from the hall.

"Suck up," hissed Harry.

"You want a chance with my sister you'd best back off," said Ron with equal venom.

Both boys just glared for a moment before they blushed and turned away with thoughts running through their heads about certain girls.

Naruto though just shook his head. He couldn't for the life of him fathom what would be so interesting about girls. They were weak, they smelled funny, and they never say what they mean.

Naruto's musings were cut short when a certain Ferret made an appearance.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A couple of Muggle-lovers. What's the matter, too afraid to go anywhere by yourselves? You people shouldn't even be allowed here," said Malfoy haughtily laughing at his own jokes, which was echoed by his two cronies.

"Go away ferret face," said Naruto waving him off and walking past him.

Malfoy didn't take to that too kindly. No one ignores a Malfoy, no one. He was quick to draw his wand and take aim. However before he could even blink his arm was bent backward at a painful angle with his own wand point at his head.

"I could kill you here you know," whispered Naruto in Malfoy's ear. His cronies were too stunned by the sudden movement to even act, "Now let this be a lesson to you, you should never mess with those who are better than you." Naruto then took the wand and snapped it with just his thumb and a bit of chakra pressure. He then tossed the pieces back to the stunned boy who was trying very hard not to cry.

"Good luck with classes today now that you've snapped your wand," said Harry with a smile as he continued moving with his equally stunned friends.

"How did you do that?" asked Hermione in a whisper to Naruto as they walked down the halls.

"Just speed," said Naruto, "You can use magic to make your muscles and body move faster."

"Wouldn't that use a lot of magic though?" asked Hermione.

"That's why you have to train yourself to increase the magic inside yourself," explained Naruto in a whisper.

"Could you teach me?" asked Hermione.

"Hey, I want to learn too," interrupted Ron who was listening carefully.

"Sure, why not, we already agreed to help Neville, why not you two?" Harry said with a smile.

"Yeah, but whatever we show you or teach you can never be told to anyone or bragged about or anything," said Naruto.

"Wizards Oath," said Ron touching his wand to his heart.

"What?" asked Naruto and Harry.

"Wizards Oath is old magic that makes you keep a promise or secret," said Ron, "It's never used unless you really trust someone."

Naruto and Harry smiled at Ron.

"Thank you for your trust and oath," said Naruto with a polite bow which Harry imitated.

Hermione though looked at them oddly before shaking her head and clearing away whatever thought she had.

"You have my witch's oath," said Hermione touching her wand to her heart.

Neville quickly followed with his own.

"You have my wizard's oath that we will teach you as much as you are able to learn from us," said Naruto touching his wand to his heart which Harry repeated.

"Now, you have to know, you will never be able to reach the same levels as Harry and I have, you just too old," said Naruto.

"Too old?" questioned Hermione indignantly.

"Brains, how long do think we've been training to develop this kind of strength?" asked Harry.

"Um, I don't know," said Hermione honestly.

"We've been training since we were four," said Naruto, "That's seven years of training everyday without fail."

"In seven years you will be eighteen and your body's potential for growth will have slowed down extremely," said Harry, "You just don't have enough youth left to catch up to us."

"Then what's the point?" Ron asked unhappily.

"To get stronger and make the most of yourselves and the potential you have left," said Naruto with a smile, "Just because you can't catch up to us doesn't mean you can't get to where we are now or maybe even better than we are now but don't expect to keep up with us all the time. It just won't happen."

"Just like in classes we'll all stay pretty much equal," said Harry, "Or far behind Brains for most of us."

Hermione smiled at that thought, "Well, you know . . ."

Naruto, Harry, Ron, and Neville all laughed at that and continued to laugh even as they entered the class room.

Hermione sat in the front row which they all expected. Ron hastily took the seat next to her. Harry and Naruto took seats behind them to cover their backs from other who would distract them from their lessons. Neville took a seat next to Harry and Naruto.

Soon enough the other students began to filter in and take their seats. A rather pretty girl with blond hair sat next to Neville causing him to blush a bit which didn't go unnoticed by any of his friends.

"I'm surrounded by love struck morons," mumbled Naruto just before the Professor entered.

Naruto and Harry were instantly sizing him up. He gave off an air of superiority and confidence as well as a shrewd sense of dislike for his station in life. And then his speech began. Naruto and Harry listened closely to every word to glean what they could of the man. He obviously demanded respect without ever having earned it. He had zero tolerance for any misbehavior due to the topic they would be learning in his lessons. In just those ten minutes, Naruto and Harry knew very well how to deal with this man. They wouldn't trust him in the slightest but neither would ever fail to show him the respect he expected.

"Mr. Potter, our newest celebrity," said Snape with a loathing glare which added something else to the boys' characterization of Snape. He bore some manner of grudge towards Harry. "Tell me, what would happen if you add an infusion of Wormwood to powdered root of Asphodel?"

Harry considered for a moment the text book required for this course. As habit Naruto and Harry had been trained to read any require materials pertinent to their mission and memorize every last detail. Unfortunately, glitches in the system did occur.

"Forgive me, but the information you have requested is not located within the required reading for this course," said Harry respectfully though not breaking eye-contact.

"Very well, then let us test your knowledge of the required material for this course," said Snape maliciously as he opened a random student's text book, "Tell me, why must we stir clockwise three time then once counter-clockwise when making the Brew of Cool?"

"Sir, stirring clockwise accelerates the ingredients to a dangerous state, if excited to far by stirring too many times in the clockwise direction could not only cause the potion to be completely ruined but also to combust. By stirring once counter-clockwise, it slows the motion of the potion's ingredients but also allows the potion to be properly mixed," explained Harry nearly verbatim much to Snape's irritation.

"Very well, then let us see all of you put this knowledge to work, today we will be brewing this very potion," said Snape with a cool sneer. Unfortunately he could not find anything to fault the boy for as of yet.

Harry and Naruto worked diligently as their orders for the mission required when attending classes. In the end they managed to brew the potion perfectly or at least nearly so with little or no mishap.

Ron and Hermione were equally successful, no thanks to Ron. Neville did well enough, even when Snape was looming over his shoulder. He simply took Harry and Naruto's words to heart and ignored the man while planning to get revenge later.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," said Harry once they stepped out.

"Yeah, but he doesn't seem to like you too much," said Naruto with a light laugh.

"You read the man the same as me," said Harry, "You know he's not to be trusted."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill, don't trust him but show him the respect he wants," said Naruto.

"Respect him?" asked Ron incredulously.

"Snape is a pretty wretched old man Spider," said Naruto.

"Yeah, he's lonely and lives in his potions. Probably spent his entire life being ostracized for it and now as a master of his art he feels that he deserves for others to bow down at his intelligence and supremacy of the art. In other words . . ." Harry then looked at Naruto to finish it.

"He wants respect without having to earn it from his peers or in our case, students," said Naruto, "So, how do we use this information to our advantage?" Naruto then looked at Ron for the answer.

"Um, show him respect but don't trust him," guessed Ron.

"And why do we do that?" asked Harry.

"So he'll leave us alone," said Ron as though he'd just had an epiphany.

"Precisely my dear Spider," said Naruto with a smile as he continued down the hall to their next class.

"How the hell does he do that?" asked Hermione much to the shock of the other in the group that she cursed.

"You're the Brains of the operation, you figure it out," said Harry joining his cousin happily walking and making spectacles of themselves.

"I think maybe . . ." began Neville, "That, they aren't just book smart but maybe . . . maybe they just know how to read people."

"Whoa," said Ron as though he'd just been struck by brilliance again, "They can read people like books or something."

"It's an expression Spider," said Hermione poignantly.

"I don't think he's too far off though," said Neville before he ran laboriously to catch up to them.

"These guys are great," said Ron before he too ran to catch up.

"Boys," complained Hermione before she hurried along to join them.

The next class of the day was history of magic which quickly turned into nap time for all of them as the professor droned on about goblins and giants in a horrible monotone voice and a very one sided point of view of the history involved. Needless to say it was a bit skewed from what was taught in the Leaf Village not that Naruto and Harry ever paid too much attention to it anyway.

Finally nap time ended and the group was off to their first Transfiguration lesson.

"Welcome to Transfiguration. For those of you who don't know Transfiguration is the art of changing one thing," she paused to motion to her desk, "Into something else," she then waved her wand once changing her desk into a pig and back again.

Naruto and Harry though were again analyzing the magic trying to determine if that was an illusion or a true change.

Naruto couldn't wait to find out and raised a hand.

"Yes Mr. Kazama," said McGonagall trying to be kind to the loud boy.

"Was that real or an illusion?" asked Naruto seriously not hiding the interest in his eyes.

"That was a true change, illusion is an art you'll develop in charms," said McGonagall with a smile at the boys interest. "Now this is of course advanced transfiguration, like all things one must start at the bottom and work themselves up. So today we'll be working on changing matchsticks into needles."

"But Old Lady," said Naruto excitedly not holding back to raise his hand, "What are the principles? Can you change anything into anything else or are you limited by size and shape as well as what it's made of? For example, to change something into an animal does the material have to have been living in someway prior to the change or would any material work?"

McGonagall let go the 'Old Lady' comment and answered her interested student, "You are very wise to ask. It is true that you cannot just change any old material into something else. They must have some similarity between them. Also, you must note that no change is permanent no matter how much magic you put into it. Once the magic is used up the spell will break and the item will return to its original composition. This is why wizards simply can't transfigure things into gold. It is the one of the most serious magical crimes out there. There is only one item known that can create a true transfiguration and that is the Philosopher's Stone, sometimes called the Sorcerer's Stone."

"Where can I get one of those?" asked Naruto excitedly with his eyes filled with gold.

McGonagall smiled, "Only one has ever been created made by Nicolas Flamel. It is currently under heavy guard."

"Can't I just make one?"

"It is far beyond your skill at the moment. Besides, I don't believe that Mr. Flamel will just tell you the recipe," said McGonagall with a slight smirk.

Meanwhile Naruto was trying to figure a way of getting his hands on the stone in question.

After that the lesson finally began with Naruto and Harry focusing on changing their matchsticks into needles. They got the hang of it over time, first they both had to figure out how much magic to channel into the wand and then they had to get the wand movement just so. In the end they found it was easier to channel too much magic using their wands and that the wand movement shaped the magic for spells in much the same way that hand seals shaped chakra for Jutsu. The difference was that the magic wand could be used to push the made spell at a target far away before it activated the effect where Jutsu simply couldn't.

It was then that Naruto and Harry noticed something about their friends. They way they channeled magic relied entirely on their wand. They had zero experience bringing their magic out under their own control.

This time Harry raised his hand to get the attention of the teacher.

Professor McGonagall had been pleased with the progress of some of her students while others just didn't get it. She then saw Harry with his arm in the air waiting patiently for her. "Yes Mr. Potter?"

"Um Professor," began Harry, "This might be a stupid question but doesn't anyone teach them to channel cha . . . err magic?" He then nodded to the other students.

"What do you mean channel magic?" asked McGonagall curiously.

"You know, like feel the magic inside them and learn to bring it out to the surface to use," supplied Naruto helpfully.

"Boys', that is a skill that most wizards don't learn to develop until much later in their education. To do so at such a young age would be reckless and lead to many accidents that would follow with the unleashing of such wild and uncontrolled magic," explained McGonagall not liking in the least what these two boys were implying. She knew full well how Harry and Naruto were raised among those horrible people.

"But that's just stupid and reckless," said Harry in shock at what she just suggested.

"I'm sorry?" asked McGonagall in shock by the boy's outburst.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that is for the human body?" asked Harry in outrage. "The human body develops the most from birth to the age of twenty-five before it begins to decline. You have to learn to bring out the magic in your body as a young child or you will severely diminish the magic they will be able to control later in life as well as stunting the power they have over their magic."

"Well Mr. Potter, that is simply dangerous. If children were to learn such a thing they could easily exhaust their magical reserves and die," said McGonagall.

"That's why you teach them," said Naruto, "If they don't know their limits they could do it by accident before you've had a chance to teach them and then what have you prevented? I'll tell you what, nothing. They won't have gained in power, they won't have learned to control and focus their magic properly without their wands and even then it won't help them much."

McGonagall was not enjoying being lectured by two first year students. She liked even less that she saw the point in what they were saying. "Boys, it is not my decision as to when such skills are taught to students. If you feel so strongly about this then go explain it to Professor Dumbledore."

"Fine," said Harry gathering his things into his bag.

"We will," said Naruto doing the same.

McGonagall was flabbergasted watching the boys pick up their things and just leave. It was only after the door closed that she noticed the audience provided by the students.

"Back to work all of you," said McGonagall a bit too harshly.

Meanwhile Naruto and Harry found a ghost to guide them to Professor Dumbledore's office.

"Hey, old man, open the door," yelled Naruto at the statue.

"Yelling will not help Mr. Kazama," said a calm voice from just slightly down the hall.

"Hey, old man, what the hell is wrong with you?" demanded Harry pointing a finger at him.

"It would help if you first explained the problem," said Dumbledore waving aside the Gargoyle and proceeding into his office followed by the two boys motioning for them to sit.

"Lemon Drop," offered Dumbledore to the pair which they happily accepted, "Now, please explain to me exactly what the problem is."

Naruto and Harry then both launched into a long tirade that they had received from Ebisu more than once when he taught them chakra control and why it was so important.

In the end Dumbledore found himself nodding his head along with the boys.

"So you'll change the classes to require the learning of focusing, bring out cha . . . err magic, and learning to control it right away?" asked Harry while he still had the headmaster nodding his head.

Dumbledore nodded without thinking it through very carefully.

"Glad we agree," said Naruto with a grin, "Our work here is done Harry, let's go."

"Right oh," said Harry with the same grin.

"What just happened?" asked Dumbledore after the duo left the room.

"If I had to guess I'd say they just worked you," said one of the paintings before the subject simply wandered off.

That night at dinner Dumbledore called for the attention of all those present. "It has come to my attention by some of our students that certain knowledge would be helpful to our students in general. As such, I have decided to introduce a new course of study open to all years every Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon. The goal of said course is to teach students to focus and control their magic. This will of course be an optional subject but it is highly recommended for all our students."

Naruto and Harry just smiled and toasted their ramen bowls which for some unknown reason found its way onto the table in front of every student.

"I've got to hand it to you two," said Fred.

"Yeah, we don't know what you said to those house elves to get them to serve this stuff again," said George.

"Or the first time for that matter," added Fred.

"But we must congratulate you," said George.

"Thanks guys. Now eat up," said Naruto pausing between his fifth and sixth bowl of ramen.

Harry just grinned before he started into his sixth bowl.

"Right away sir," said Fred taking up his own bowl and digging in.

George saluted before he began eating his own bowl.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

(A/N: I am sure by now most readers know this story fairly well. So, I hope none of you mind if I gloss over a few of the events from the Harry Potter books so that we can speed things along to the interesting stuff.)

Wednesday night came on soon enough and Harry, Naruto and Company all happily went to Dumbledore's new class on focusing magic. Well, Harry and Naruto went happily. Ron, Hermione and Neville could barely stay standing after two morning workouts with the duo.

"Welcome students," began Dumbledore, "I am very pleased to see that so many of you have decided to join us this evening. Now, it has been past precedent that learning to properly focus and regulate the use of your own magic has been taught only to seventh year students and only in the vaguest of senses. For the most part, we have worked under the assumption that by the time you have reached your seventh year of education you should have enough control of your magic that you would need very little coaching on focusing your magic.

"However, new research done by foreign wizards has revealed that this practice may be detrimental to developing wizard's magical core and control. As such, we will be introducing this optional course as a test to see if it helps students in learning to use magic. As you can see, all of the professors have chosen to join us to witness and learn along with you. Now, if I might, I would like to introduce a friend of mine. This is Master Sarutobi."

With that an elderly man with a pipe entered. He seemed a bit frail to the appearance but he seemed to radiate with as much power as Dumbledore did. "Thank you for the kind words of welcome Professor Dumbledore."

"Ojisan," yelled Naruto and Harry with grins rushing up to him.

"Hello boys," said Sarutobi giving them both a warm smile.

"How did he con you into doing this?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, and whose protecting everyone if you're here?" asked Naruto.

Sarutobi just laughed lightly, "I'm only going to help this one time to teach a few exercises. I shall only be here for a few hours."

"Sweet," shouted Harry.

"What are teaching us this time?" asked Naruto excited to learn something new and cool.

"It's nothing you two haven't already been taught," said Sarutobi before he turned to the class, "Now, everyone if you would, wands away." This earned him a questioning look from all those present. "Now, please join me sitting in a circle." Sarutobi then sat down on the open with his legs crossed.

Naruto and Harry were the first to sit on either side of their grandfather figure. The others slowly joined them with the teachers finally sitting last across from the elderly man.

"Now then," began Sarutobi, "I want you all to relax and close your eyes. Forget everything around you. There is no one in this room but you and my voice. There is nothing here but you and my voice. Feel the power sleeping dormant within you. Think back on all the times you've done magic by accident without your wands. Think about the feeling you had coursing through your veins. Feel for that power now. Feel the slight pull at your very center and pull at it. Pull it out of your bodies for the world to see. Now keep that feeling and open your eyes and look about you."

Sarutobi then opened his eyes and smiled. Most of the students had at least some flecks of chakra coming from them. Others like Naruto and Harry were emitting enough to use Jounin level Jutsu or higher in Naruto's case. Sarutobi had been fully apprised by Dumbledore of the change Naruto went through so he wasn't that shocked at seeing it.

"Do you all see and feel the magic that permeates your body now? Do you feel it burning through your bodies wanting to escape?" asked Sarutobi, "Don't let it go, pull it back in. Control it for it is yours to control and manipulate. It is your power to use on your paths to becoming great wizards. Reign in your magic. Bring it back inside your body but only just. Feel the magic flowing at the surface and don't let it escape." Slowly the magic was drawn back in by the students while there were some that just lost it all together.

"This was the first exercise in focusing your magic. Until you can call upon you magic and control it perfectly in an instant you must practice this everyday for at least fifteen minutes. This will give access to greater amounts of magic when you need it. Eventually you will reach a point where the magic is constantly flowing just under the surface but always at your disposal. However, one must always maintain control on this power or bad things may happen. Naruto, would you please demonstrate what can happen when you allow your magic to erupt wildly."

Naruto nodded reluctantly before standing and walking to the center of the ring. "Aaahhh," Naruto began only as a whisper and getting louder as his chakra began to escape wildly in all directions cutting through the stone floor and throwing wind and dust in all directions

"That is enough Naruto," said Sarutobi with a smile interested to see how much control Naruto had of his new chakra system. The chakra came instantly under his control though a few wisps of chakra still permeated the air around them all.

Naruto hurried back to his seat slightly embarrassed.

"Now, as you can all see by the state of what used to be the floor of the Great Hall how dangerous wild and uncontrolled magic can be," said Sarutobi rather severely to the surprised and slightly worried students, "That is why it is very important if you intend to learn to focus your magic you must always maintain control."

Sarutobi then noticed a boy a bit older than Naruto and Harry raise his hand, "Yes."

"Sir, what if we can't control it?"

"You will control it," said Sarutobi leaving no room for argument, "Now, before you worry too much there are ways to enhance your control." He then held out a small wooden box which he then opened to reveal several gold pressed leaves. "Please, if everyone would take one."

One by one all the students took a leaf including Naruto and Harry.

"I am about to teach the best technique ever created to learn to control magic," said Sarutobi with a smile as the students puzzled over the leaves. Sarutobi took one of his own a placed it lightly against his head. However, when he removed his hand the leaf didn't move.

Everyone in the room was puzzled including the teachers before one of the students shouted out, "It's just a sticking charm." However he was cut silent in an instant when the leaf seemed to spin around slowly as though caught on a breeze.

"I assure you no charm has been used, only my raw magical energy without a wand for a focus," explained Sarutobi calmly, "Now then, this requires you be able to focus only on the leaf on your forehead and nothing else. If you use too much magic, the leaf with cut your head if only a little, too little and it will blow away like a leaf on the wind." Slowly one by one the students and teachers began putting the leaves to their heads and focusing on controlling their magic to keep the leaf in place. It was at that point that Sarutobi began to help the students who struggled through all of the exercises to find and use their magic without their wands.

"That was so cool," said Ron to Neville, "Did you feel it just burn through your body like that?"

"Yeah, it hurt but it felt good too," said Neville.

"That's normal when you first begin to learn," said an elderly voice they all recognized as the teacher. "Hello children, that burning feeling is normal the first time you bring you magic up to the surface and try to hold it their. Once you get used to calling it up, that magic will always be at your disposal and more than that you'll not feel any burn from it unless you let it all fly like Naruto showed you."

"Did it hurt Naruto then?" asked the bushy-haired girl.

"Not at all, he is used to expelling much more magic than that at one time," said Sarutobi with a smile at the concern she held for Naruto. It was then he decided that sending both Naruto and Harry here was a good idea.

"But it was so much more than even the older students could make?" protested the girl.

"Indeed, that should tell you how powerful Naruto is," said Sarutobi, "And if you train and work hard practicing the skills you've learned tonight you could become quite powerful as well."

"Really?" asked all three together.

"Indeed, but I do believe it is time for the final lesson for this evening," said Sarutobi return to the front of the room, "Now students, it is time for the last lesson this evening, magical exhaustion."

That seemed to catch the entire room's attention, "We are going to drain almost every last drop of magic in all of you. You might be asking 'why?' so I'll just tell you why. You must know the limits of your magic. At any time you should never use more magic than you have within you. But how will you know how much magic you have in you if you don't use it all at least once in your life under controlled conditions. For that your school medic will be supervising to find out how far you can go without endangering your lives."

"I still can't believe you gave permission for this Headmaster," chided Poppy from near the door.

Albus simply shrugged leaving it to Sarutobi to deal with.

"Now, please line up from oldest to youngest, we will go through this one at a time to ensure there are no mishaps," said Sarutobi calmly, "Now I want you to remember earlier when you pulled you magic out, this time I want you to pull it out and leg it go. We have put up barriers to make it safe so you don't have to worry about damaging anything."

One by one the students entered a drawn circle and released all the magic they could until they dropped to the ground only to be resuscitated with the minimal amount of energy put into a simple enervate. This was of course done intentionally.

"Remember this feeling, when you get to this point you will know your magic is just about used up and you need to stop using it or suffer the consequences that may include death," said Sarutobi severely.

"And I think with that we will end for the evening." said Albus, "Let us all thank Master Sarutobi for his assistance today."

There were a few weak claps but all the students were simply exhausted.

Sarutobi bowed politely to the students and staff before he followed Albus back to his office.

"Now off to bed with all of you," said Poppy ushering the exhausted children out of the hall and back to their dorms.

Sarutobi smiled as he listened to some of the groans of the students that just wanted to fall asleep.

"Thank you again for your assistance Sarutobi, I was not sure myself where to begin," said Albus.

"I wanted the opportunity to see how Naruto and Harry have been coming along. It seems they have already made some friends here," said Sarutobi with a smile.

"Both of those boys have a unique trait in that they are both natural leaders and tend to draw people to them," said Albus, "I am looking forward to see how well they grow in the years to come."

"I am looking forward to it as well," said Sarutobi, "But I believe it was time I was on my way."

"Thank you again for coming," said Albus handing him an old shoe and tapping it with his wand causing Sarutobi to vanish leaving him to his thoughts and concerns. In just that short time, the students had learned something both terrible and wonderful all at once. Those students knew how to focus and call up their magic without becoming overly emotional. He had to hope and pray that the students would use this knowledge wisely.

Meanwhile up in the dorm Naruto was sleeping soundly and Harry was well on his way to joining him.

"Harry," said a soft Ron.

"What is it Ron?" asked Harry trying to focus on his friend.

"Why did you say that about my sister?" asked Ron.

"I don't know," said Harry, "I just saw something when I met her eyes, like there was a fire or something in my stomach."

"Oh," said Ron.

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Well, I have this friend," said Ron stupidly, "And he likes this girl."

"Ron, are you talking about you and Hermione?"

"What? No, of course not," said Ron feeling lucky it was dark or Harry would be laughing at his blush.

"Do you think Hermione is pretty?" asked Harry.

"I don't know, I just feel different," said Ron unsure of what to say.

"That's the same way I felt when I first saw your sister," said Harry.

"Oh . . . well . . . night then," said Ron rolling over to deal with his own thoughts.

Not much later Harry was asleep as well.

The next morning all five were up and outside by the lake sitting in a meditative state as Sarutobi had shown them the night before. Harry and Naruto knew that they could only show their friends a little bit of what they knew or they would be in huge trouble with Konoha and they were already on the council's shit-list. Harry and Naruto decided they would help them with chakra control and manipulation as well as physical training. They would not teach them any Jutsu.

"Alright, now let's move on to the leaf exercise," said Harry putting the leaf to his forehead which the other all imitated.

Naruto struggled a bit with this because his chakra control was still out of whack but getting better rapidly. Hermione seemed to get it right away but then she didn't have much chakra to manipulate. Neville did okay with it but poor Ron struggled horribly with it.

After they practiced the leaf exercise they all went for a nice run . . . around the lake . . . twice. That was followed up with push-ups and sit-ups until they dropped. That was followed up by classes and of course Ramen dinner.

No matter what Dumbledore tried with the house elves he could not get them to serve anything but Ramen to all students and staff for dinner. It was beginning to get on his nerves as well as the rest of the schools.

"Finally, it is time to fly," shouted Naruto excitedly.

"This is going to be so awesome, I can't wait to show this everyone back home," said Harry.

"Can you imagine the pranks we'll be able to pull off once we learn to fly?" asked Naruto dreamily.

"This is going to kick ass," shouted Harry once more.

"I've read all about this," said Hermione, "I shouldn't have any problems with this at all."

"You can't learn to fly by reading a book," said Ron incredulously.

"I most certainly can," said Hermione with a bit a 'humph' before she stormed ahead to the court yard where they would be learning at.

Poor Neville though looked white as a ghost at the prospect of leaving the ground, "I don't like heights."

"Why not?" asked Naruto.

"My Uncle Algie, he was worried I was a squib so he pushed me out of a window," said Neville, "Broke my arm too. But then, he did it again a few months later only that time I bounced . . . all the way down the street."

Naruto and Harry tried not to laugh but after Ron snorted they couldn't hold it in any longer.

"It's not funny," said Neville slightly hurt that he friends would laugh at him so.

"You have to admit, it is kind of funny," said Harry wiping away a tear, "Imagine if it was Naruto or I that did that."

At that thought Neville laughed too, "I guess it was pretty funny."

"Yeah, and don't worry about flying anyway," said Harry, "It's not that important."

"Gather round children, come on now, hurry up," said the flying instructor Madam Hooch.

"I decided to try flying lessons a bit differently this year than most," said Madam Hooch to begin. "After Wednesday night's lesson on Magic control and focus I've decided to build upon that. Now, wands are simply a tool to focus your magic more easily, but you still need to have control of. A broom is much the same however, it requires power more than focus or control just to fly. So let us focus on that first. Now, everyone step up to a broom and put your right hand over it." Everyone did as she instructed, "Now, I want you all to feel the magic in you and push it out but direct it towards the broom and then with conviction order the broom 'UP'"

"Up," Harry barely whispered and the broom shot up to his hand.

"Up," Naruto said clearly causing his broom to rise slowly but steadily up to his hand.

Hermione gave the order several times but the broom didn't so much as budge.

Ron's broom shot up to his hand on his third try.

Neville though was the greatest surprise. His came up to his hand almost as quickly as Harry's did.

"Well done students," said Madam Hooch. It had taken on average five minutes less than when she taught this in previous years.

After that she took the students through several basic exercises always reminding them to feel out their magic and apply only as much as they need. The results spoke for themselves.

"Now, let's go flying," said Madam Hooch as she took flight through the courtyard followed by the students.

"It's amazing," said Malfoy snidely, "The fat lump and the twerp got off the ground."

Naruto instantly glared at Malfoy trying to keep the need to impale the boy at bay and ignore the Kyubi's howling for the boy's blood.

"Better than you," said Neville with a bit of confidence.

"As if," said Malfoy.

"Prove it then," said Neville with a nervous swallow.

"Fine, see if you can keep up," said Malfoy racing ahead as fast as he could followed by Neville. Malfoy didn't go far just towards a tree which purposely clipped a branch causing it to knock Neville off his broom rather harshly.

All the students had to land immediately.

Madam Hooch escorted Neville to the hospital wing.

Malfoy then saw a little glass ball lying in the dirt where Neville had landed. "Maybe if the fat lump had giving this a squeeze he would have remembered to land on his fat ass."

"Give it," said Naruto fiercely.

"Now," added Harry coming up to within an inch of Malfoy's face.

Malfoy though just hopped on his broom, "You want it, come and get it."

"Harry, you heard Madam Hooch," said Hermione protectively.

"No worries," said Naruto distracting Hermione while Harry hopped on his broom and went after Malfoy.

"Give it here Malfoy or I'll knock you off your broom," said Harry as he charged at the blond asshole.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for him to find, how about on the roof then," Malfoy then chucked the little orb as far as he could.

Harry though lowered his body to his broom and shot past Malfoy at top speed but not without viciously kicking Malfoy in the head on the way knocking him clean off his broom.

Harry meanwhile raced towards the ball at top speed catching it only a mere inch or two from the castle wall. He failed to notice the teacher peering out the window at that exact moment.

Harry landed to the cheers of his classmates only to laugh as he saw Malfoy cradling his own arm in pain. It seemed the bastard broke his arm in the fall.

"Harry Potter," called a rather severe voice.

Naruto swallowed nervously on the behalf of his cousin. He knew he was in deep shit.

"Come with me," said McGonagall turning and leaving.

"I warned him not to," said Hermione in huff.

"Hermione, you're my friend but you are really starting to get on my nerves," said Naruto before he chased after Harry hoping to find out what happened.

"I'm getting on his nerves?" questioned Hermione, "What could I have possibly done to do that? If anyone is getting on anyone's nerves it him. I just can't understand why . . ."

"Hermione, you are really annoying," said Ron before he went after Naruto.

As it turned out their fears for Harry were unnecessary. McGonagall had actually been impressed with Harry and put him on the Quidditch team. The best part of it was that Malfoy was really pissed off about the whole thing.

Hermione however was rather sour that Harry was permitted to break the rules so easily and not get into any trouble at all. It was throwing off her entire world where everything was in black and white.

Even so, the routine day in and day out for the five friends for the next few months changed very little with the exception of Harry's Quidditch practice.

**Break**

"Hey, wanna explore the third floor corridor today?" asked Naruto of his exhausted friends.

"But you know that's out of bounds," said Hermione.

"When has that ever stopped us?" asked Harry joining Naruto by the portrait.

"Besides, it'll be fun," said Naruto.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you," said Hermione turning back to her book.

"Ron, Neville, you guys coming?" Harry asked with a large grin.

"Sure," said Neville standing slowly.

"Ron?"

"Too tired, must sleep," said Ron not moving an inch, he still wasn't used to the exercising or he was just too lazy. Naruto and Harry weren't too sure which it was.

"Suit yourselves," said Naruto with a grin before he, Harry and Neville all went off on their adventure.

"I just don't get those two," said Hermione after they were gone, "They can be so smart and wise almost and then they go and do something so unbelievably stupid and childish."

Ron though just snored loudly having missed everything she just said.

Hermione shook her head and smirked at the boy before returning to the library book on wizarding societies around the world. She was so absorbed in her book that she only looked up when she saw the three boys return looking a little worse for the wear.

"What happened to you three?"

"Big dog," said Neville white as a ghost.

"Oh, it wasn't that big," said Naruto brushing it off. Hermione couldn't help laughing when she saw Naruto's froggy-boxer shorts through the gaping hole in the back of his robes and pants.

"I just want to know what the old man was thinking in keeping a giant three headed dog in a castle full of students," said Harry.

"Did you see?" asked Neville swallowing. It was obvious that he was still shaken up.

"See what?" asked Harry and Naruto together.

"It was standing on a trap door," said Neville.

"So it's guarding something," said Naruto looking to Harry.

"I bet it's that thing Black Beard picked up in Diagon Alley," said Harry.

"We'll have to ask him about it," said Naruto.

"Tomorrow," said Harry looking out at the setting sun.

"Fine, tomorrow," said Naruto slightly disappointed.

Once they were all back in their dorm room, Naruto and Harry faked sleep so they could go out into the grounds to practice night maneuvers and stealth. Plus the forbidden forest was quite entertaining. It was also something they had taken to doing regularly.

The next day found the troupe enjoying a brisk walk across the wind swept land that surrounded Hogwarts as they made their way to meet Hagrid for afternoon tea. Naruto and Harry had not found a taste for British tea and instead took to bringing green tea with them when they went to visit him, the tea came with the compliments of the house elves.

"Hello there," said Hagrid in his normal booming voice as he ushered them all into his cozy little hut.

"So Blackbeard," began Naruto without any preamble, "What was that thing from the day in Diagon Alley?"

Hagrid just about sprayed his tea all over the children, "Now why would yeh be wantin' ter know a thin' like that?"

"Well, we were wandering without any destination in mind when we somehow found ourselves standing before a rather large three headed dog," explained Harry doing his best to act innocent.

"It wasn't until after we had run for our lives that we noticed that the dog was standing on a trap door," added Naruto following Harry's innocent act.

"We figure the dog must be guarding whatever that little package we found was and since we did rescue it we thought it would be nice to know what it was," finished Harry doing his best to guilt Hagrid into it.

"I'm sorry lads but that's top secret information that it," said Hagrid with a bit of a guilty look in his eyes.

"Oh, come now, it couldn't be too important it they are keeping locked up in a school full of children," said Naruto working his magic.

"I'll have you know that this school is the safest place on the planet. Mr. Flamel should be honored that Dumbledore agreed to guard it for him," said Hagrid defensively before he realized what he'd just said. "I shouldn'ta said that, I should not 'ave said that."

"Flamel?" asked Naruto keying in on the lecture from transfiguration class, "As in Nicolas Flamel? As in Philoso-what's-it stone Nicolas Flamel?" Hermione was about to correct him before Ron covered her mouth.

"Now, you don't be needin' to be knowin' nothin' about any o' that," said Hagrid.

"No," shouted Naruto, "I have it my hand and I gave it to him."

"But you didn't know what it was," said Harry trying to comfort Naruto before the boy suddenly perked up with a devious little gleam in his eyes.

"Oh well, no big loss I guess," said Naruto nonchalantly only managing to fool Hagrid, "Anyway, we should be going now."

The group then left and once they were a safe distance from Hagrid's, Hermione couldn't hold it in any longer.

"What are you up to? You let that go way too easily," said Hermione.

Naruto just grinned which was mimicked by Harry.

"What are you two planning?" asked Ron recognizing the grin for as often as they had seen it they knew by now that it definitely meant trouble.

"Ask us no questions," said Naruto.

"And we'll tell you no lies," finished Harry.

"You plan to go after it yourselves," said Neville in an unusual moment of clarity.

"Hey, who told you?" pouted Naruto.

"No, you mustn't do that," said Hermione, "We could get killed, or worse, expelled."

That caused the group to look at her in confusion, only Naruto voiced his opinion.

"Since when is expulsion worse than death?"

"Because I said so," said Hermione angrily before stomping off ahead of them.

"She needs to get her priorities sorted," said Ron with a bit of blush.

Naruto having picked up on the blush capitalized, "You like that fiery temper do you? Get you all hot and bothered?"

With that even Neville blushed horribly, but poor Ron got so red, it appeared he was going to faint from all the blood rushing to his head.

**BREAK**

"Hey, wake your ass up," said Harry roughly shaking a happily sleeping Naruto.

"Go away," said Naruto rolling over.

"Wake up," said Harry half tempted to use his wand to spray Naruto with a jet of water.

"It's my birthday, let me sleep in," mumbled Naruto pulling the pillow over his head.

"Che, lazy ass," said Harry leaving his cousin to sleep in. Harry went down to the common room by himself to meet up with his friend.

"Morning Harry, where's Naruto?" asked Neville.

"Sleeping in," said Harry with a sour look.

"What? Why does he get to sleep in today?" demand a more than annoyed Ron.

"It's his birthday," said Harry.

"Really?" asked Hermione, "But you never said anything about it? If we'd known we would have had a party for him."

"He doesn't like to talk about it," said Harry with a slight glance back to the room.

"What? Why not?" asked Ron.

"Because he and I both actually mourn on this day," said Harry sadly.

"Mourn, who died?" asked Ron stupidly before Hermione hit the back of his head.

"Oh, right," said Ron, "Sorry, mouth thing again."

"Don't worry about. We probably won't see Naruto at all today," said Harry, "We should just get going without him."

"Harry, why is Naruto so upset about your parents dying today?" asked Ron as stupidly as ever.

"His parents both died the same night he was born," said Harry not looking back at his friends as they continued out of the castle, "Look, let's not talk about it." As soon as they were out of the castle Harry was off running towards the lake pushing himself and his friends harder in their run than ever before.

Meanwhile Naruto was just waiting for them to leave before he went to his own destination. As soon as Naruto saw them all out on the lawn running Naruto grabbed his family scroll and went for the place the house elves had told him about. He found the painting and the walked past the same stretch of wall three times waiting and hoping that the elves hadn't lied to him when a door suddenly appeared.

Naruto entered the very small but very cozy room. He'd been putting this off for far too long and now he simply had to see to it properly. He and Harry had talked about this for a while and it was nearly impossible for Naruto to get the private time he needed to complete his task with their friends constantly with them. Granted their time training together was away from the friends but that time didn't give either of them much chance to work on new techniques and Naruto didn't want to make Harry feel left out either. So Naruto finally just had to do it without their knowledge, luckily, Harry ran interference for him as well.

Naruto rolled out the scroll on the tatami floor the room had created for him.

_Shunshin no Jutsu: The Flash Step. The Kazama clan's pinnacle of speed and movement as well as the first and most important technique of the Kazama-ka's true fighting style. It is only possible with the awakening of the bloodline. It is neither genjutsu nor ninjutsu but a hybrid of both. It allows for the user to move instantaneously to any location with in range of the user's chakra limitations. Upon activating the blood line, known by the golden yellow glow of the whites of the eyes and the slight glow of the hair, the user emits a bright temporarily blinding flash of yellow light through which the user travels instantly to anywhere the light reaches._

Naruto was shocked after he finished reading the little bit of information. Things were definitely starting to get interesting. Naruto decided to spend his time working towards the activation of the Shunshin though his hopes were not very high at the moment. Sadly too, this was Kyubi's objective for Naruto as well. He had to learn to control and use Shunshin without error within the next month if he wanted to learn anything else from the fox.

Naruto spent the remainder of the day and a good portion of the early evening hidden away studying. Finally Naruto decided it was time to get out for a bit and sneak back to the common room away from prying eyes. He wasn't expecting to watch a giant . . . thing walk into the girl's bathroom followed by a loud shriek. Then he saw Harry rushing inside to deal with the thing.

"I suppose I should help," said Naruto as he lazily walked into the bathroom to see the giant thing riddled with shuriken and kunai as well a few burnt spots but no real damage.

"Naruto, help me with this thing," shouted Harry as he dodged another swing of the club.

"You look like you've got it covered," said Naruto taking a bite out of the apple he nicked from the kitchen, "Where's the girl that screamed?"

"It was Hermione, she caught the tail end of that club and got knock right out," said Harry as he dodged again.

"And Ron and Neville?" asked Naruto expecting them to be right next to him.

"Hospital wing," said Harry as he tried to slide in close only to be forced back out again.

"Would you just stop moving around for a minute and tell me the whole story?" demanded Naruto.

"I'm kind of busy, help me with this thing and I'll explain everything," said Harry exasperated by his cousin.

"Fine," said Naruto throwing his apple core perfectly inside the brute's mouth, "Any suggestions?"

"Yeah, kill it fast," said Harry with an excited grin only to have it wiped off his face as the giant caught him with a glancing blow in his moment of distraction.

"Idiot," said Naruto as he watched his cousin sail through the air and into one of the stalls. "Now, how do I kill you?" It was then he remembered the dueling feathers he and Harry played with in class yesterday. A giant grin crossed his face. He raised his wand and took aim claiming the club from the monster's hand. Naruto then began humming as he mercilessly beat the troll to death with its own club. When it was all said and done there wasn't much recognizable remaining.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu," said Naruto spewing flames from his mount incinerating the monster and mess all at the same time. After that he sprayed some water from his wand dousing Harry in the face waking him up.

"What?" shouted Harry as he came to, "Huh? What happened to the Troll?"

"Oh, is that what it was?" asked Naruto with a grin.

"What did you do?"

"Remember the dueling feathers yesterday in charms?"

Harry soon had a grin to match, "Now why didn't I think of that?"

"Cause I'm smarter than you are," said Naruto boastfully.

"Hardly," said Harry with a grin, "But you are more surprising than me."

"Naturally," said Naruto, "Never forget, I am Kitsune."

"Well Mr. Kitsune, do you care to explain yourselves?" asked a rather severe looking head of house.

"No idea what you're talking about. I came in to find it like this already and Harry and Hermione both out cold. I just woke them up," said Naruto with a completely straight face. It was then Snape and Dumbledore entered.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Snape looking sharply at Naruto. Naruto suddenly felt a tremendous pressure in coming from the seal and inside his head.

"Get out, get out, get out, get out," Naruto began screaming as he clutched his head.

Suddenly an earthly roar came from Naruto as he charged forward faster than anyone could blink. Before anyone could register what was happening Snape was pressed soundly against the ceiling held by a giant paw of red chakra that was slowly trying to strangle him while Naruto crouched next to the suspended Snape on the ceiling.

"Vermin," raged a voice from another world, "How dare you enter into my presence? How dare you violate me in such a way?"

Harry knew what was happening, he just couldn't figure out why it was happening. What did Snape do to call out Kyubi and in such a supremely pissed off state.

"What did Professor Snape do?" asked Dumbledore doing his best to diffuse the situation before it became some very violent and quite deadly.

"This worm tried to force his way into my mind. He tried to force his way beyond the barriers to learn what he could from me. This will not be tolerated. And now I will kill him for it."

"Please desist, killing him will solve nothing," said Albus very worried. He had no control here. His best hope would be to reach out to Naruto.

"Of course it won't," boomed Naruto, "But it will make me feel much better."

"He isn't worth it," said Albus, "You're better than this."

"Maybe . . . maybe not," said Naruto coldly, "Fine, I will let this flesh bag live for now . . . but first . . . I think a little punishment is in order. Let's see how he likes having someone tear through his mind and memories. Let's see what is really inside." A little tendril of chakra began to seep its way into Snape's terrified face. "Oh, yes, do resist, it makes the pain so much more . . . lasting."

This was not Naruto, that much was certain.

"Well, well, what is this?" asked Naruto as he surfed through Snape's mind, "So, Harry's father bullied you but then, you did deserve it didn't you. Raping all those young girl's and then erasing their memories at the encouragement of Lucius Malfoy. Ah, and you are still loyal to him, even in your supposed role as a spy, how very interesting the things to be found hidden in the mind? Isn't that right Prince, or should I say 'The Half-Blood Prince'. It seems old man that you are a greater fool than I thought you to be. Trusting this disgusting traitor whose only purpose in being a spy for you was to get close enough to kill you in a moment of weakness. Don't you just feel horrible now knowing that I will allow this filth to continue living?"

"Lies," Snape tried to gasp out.

"Oh yes, they must be lies," snickered Naruto sarcastically, "Your mind can hide nothing from me Snivillus. You are but a disgusting, wretched, worthless, piece of trash, just as your father always told you. You've earned your spot in hell and trust me when I say that my minions will enjoy their time with you." Suddenly his eyes narrowed even further when he found another memory. Naruto then violently threw Snape from the ceiling and into the wall damaging the masonry in the process. "I've change my mind, I will kill him." Naruto then threw one massive fist of pure chakra hitting Snape further into the wall shattering nearly every bone in his body and yet somehow he lived. It was then Naruto noticed Dumbledore and smiled evilly, "On second though, I'll leave the rest to you."

Dumbledore had never felt such a horrid fear well up inside him as Naruto tore through his teacher's mind spewing out all of Snape's darkest secrets. He feared that Snape's mind would be destroyed by it. But then he heard of Snape's secrets and his fear was replaced by such a righteous anger as he had ever felt. After everything Albus had done to protect Snape this was his reward, a snake hiding in the grass waiting for his time to strike.

Naruto dropped lightly to the floor landing on all fours with his nine tails of chakra swaying behind him before vanishing all together and Naruto collapsing to the floor unconscious.

"Albus, what on earth was that? How did that boy do that? What is going on here?" demanded Minerva.

"We will discuss this later in private. For now, I find that I must see to a certain traitor," said Albus hardly containing his fury towards his Potion's Master and Spy. It was true that the Kyubi could have lied, but the beast really had no reason.

"So," said Harry, "We were right not to trust him. Shinobi 1, Wizards 0"

"Mr. Potter, please see to your friend and cousin, you do not need to be here to witness this," said Albus.

Harry couldn't help but smirk, "I could do it for you if you want me to."

"That will not be necessary Harry, I can see to my own dirty work, Minerva, forgive me," Albus then shot Minerva with a minor memory charm.

"Minerva, hurry and help the children, I'll see to Severus," said Albus issuing directions.

Minerva nodded and immediately helped the children to the Hospital wing.

"Severus, you disappoint me greatly," said Albus, "You could have been great but instead chose to betray us all. First that boy's parents, and now a scheme to kill me. But fear not, soon you will never have to worry about such things again. Albus then sent a simple bone breaking curse at Severus' neck killing him instantly. He then doctored the scene as needed to make it look as though Severus died fighting the troll. Albus hated doing such things. It truly repulsed him to be involved in all the deceit and espionage and now he'd even been force to alter the memory of one of his teachers. However, if it kept his student's safe then so be it.

True, Albus Dumbledore always showed the world his clandestine side but the truth was much darker than even Albus Dumbledore would care to admit. Still, all of that aside he was still a leader to the light and quite a good man even with his past sins, which he was prepared to face when the time came.

Albus' walk back to his office had been rather subdued. Not so much because of the death of Severus Snape but because of the fact that he now needed to locate a new potion's master, preferably one that wasn't going to betray him. It also became very apparent that even with his amazing powers he could not spend all of his time chasing after Naruto and Harry. He needed help to deal with them.

Upon entering his office he picked up a shoe lace and tapped it with his wand causing it to glow blue for an instant before it whisked him away.

**BREAK**

Sarutobi had quite the headache at the moment. One of his Jounin was in rather bad shape after running into her old teacher. Physically she was fine if not completely exhausted to the point of near death. However, it was the mental trauma of the experience that left her in such a state. She had always been . . . quirky but it was now clear that she'd not be able to return to ANBU for a very long time to come and she wouldn't be able to deal with anything dangerous for a while or she might just lose it complete and kill her own team and herself. It was quite the headache indeed.

If it were possible he would have assigned her a Genin team but academy graduation wasn't for several months and there weren't any recently deceased Jounin instructors that he could replace with her.

Thankfully or unluckily depending on how you look at it, he was disrupted by the arrival of a new friend.

"Good evening Albus," said Sarutobi congenially.

"Good evening Sarutobi, how are you?"

"I am well thank you," said Sarutobi, "What can I do for you this evening?"

"There was an incident this evening involving a troll and the death of my potion's master," explained Albus mirthlessly.

"Most unfortunate, I'm guessing Harry and Naruto were involved for you to come so far?" asked Sarutobi puffing on his pipe unhappily.

Albus sighed and explained everything that transpired that evening.

"Well, sound as though things turned out for the best in the end then," said Sarutobi please to hear of Naruto and Harry's progress. He was also starting to see a solution to his own dilemma.

"So it is I have come to you to ask for your assistance, with the death of my Potion's master I am in need of a replacement. While I realize your people may not know much about wizard's potions, you would certainly be able to keep tabs on Naruto and Harry and perhaps keep them out of too much trouble," said Albus hopefully.

"It would seem we are once again able to assist each other. One of my Jounin was recently attacked by her former sensei, an ex-student of mind. This has left her a bit disturbed. However, she will be perfect for this job. She is an accomplish poison's master. She will be able to teach your students well enough to brew poisons and antidotes to poison's as well as the most basic of medical creams and solutions. I am sure that with some time to study she would be able to learn to brew your wizard's potions."

"It seems that would be acceptable, but only if she is willing," said Albus.

"Oh, it's not about willing. It's about duty. She had been a Jounin for a long time now and has yet to take on her own team. I've decided to appoint her to Naruto and Harry. It will resolve a lot of problems on both sides," explained Sarutobi.

"Very well then, I will send Hagrid to collect her in a week. It will give the students time to grieve for their lost professor," said Albus with only a hint of sarcasm, "Until then." Albus then stood and took his portkey back to his office. Things were about to get a lot more interesting indeed.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

She was pissed. No. Pissed wasn't a strong enough word for what she was feeling. Livid was even a bit weak to describe how angry she truly was. She'd had her ass handed to her by her traitorous teacher. She'd been tied to a hospital bed for three days and the damn shrinks wouldn't leave her alone. And when she'd finally been release from their clutches and feeling ready and more than willing to kick some ass, she finds out that she been pulled from the active duty roster.

"Let me see the old bastard," she shouted at the poor secretary.

"He's been expecting you," said the secretary with a slight quiver to her voice.

The woman narrowed her eyes. She knew then that she was walking into a trap and that the old man was about to weave some web of lies and deceit to convince her that this was all for the best and that he had something more important to do, which would inevitably end up pissing her off even more. Worse than all of this, was that she'd fall for it every time.

"Ah, welcome, welcome," Sarutobi repeated with a warm smile beckoning the young woman to enter his office and have seat.

"Why did you pull me off active duty?" she demanded hotly.

"Now, now, calm yourself," said Sarutobi passively, "I have a very important assignment for you that requires me to remove you from active duty for now."

"Bull shit, you just think I'm going to crack," she said angrily, "Now put me back on active duty so I can kick a little ass and relieve a bit of stress."

"I understand that you've never before instructed a Genin team," said Sarutobi ignoring her.

"Ha, who would be stupid enough to give me a Genin team? Does the council want a team as fucked up as I am?"

"Then I must be quite stupid," said Sarutobi sliding two folders across the desk to her, "Meet your students."

"Oh hell no!" shouted the woman, "I will not be babysitting any stupid little gaki just because you tell me to. Don't I have a right to test them anyway because I already fail them?"

"This time it is a bit more complicated," said Sarutobi puffing lightly on his pipe, "You will be joining your students in an extended mission. There will be prolonged contact with an outside group and other duty bound responsibilities. The mission length is unknown."

"You've got to be shitting me? What happened to their Jounin instructor that you would assign me now?"

"They never had one, they were assigned this mission for personal reason. If you would just look at the files you will fully understand," said Sarutobi with a nod towards the files on his desk.

Reluctantly she picked them up and started browsing through.

"By now you realize that this mission will rank SS-Class. The only people who will know of your origin will be Dumbledore and your two charges. Train them well," said Sarutobi.

"I never said that I agreed," she shouted back at him.

"And yet you're still sitting here looking through their files," said Sarutobi with a smirk.

"Damn you old man," she said more angry with herself than him, simply for the fact that she fell for it.

"Don't worry so much," said Sarutobi with a chuckle, "Study the profiles of your new students thoroughly." He then handed her another file and a rather thick book. "These will prepare you for the world you're about to enter. I have provided lesson plans to assist you in the beginning but it will be up to develop you new role. Naruto and Harry will assist you in getting acclimated to your new environment. Report back here in three days. Your transport will arrive then."

She wanted to scream in protest but then again this did sound unique. And truth be told, she could do with a bit of a vacation. Instead of commenting further she claimed the materials and left.

**BREAK**

It didn't take long for the story of Snape's death to circulate the school. Unsurprisingly this was met with a few shouts of joy and very little sadness. Even the Slytherin's weren't all to broken up by it but they sure did milk it for all it was worth.

Naruto woke up the day after with absolutely no memory from the time Kyubi had taken control. It was quite frustrating for himself and Dumbledore who wanted to know more of what Kyubi had learned from inside Snape's head. When Naruto tried to ask, the damn fox's response was to roll over and snore louder.

With the formalities out of the way, Naruto drilled Harry for the answers about Hermione, Ron, and Neville. Needless to say he couldn't stop laughing afterward.

"So, let me get this right. Ron mouth off to Hermione and she decked him. He fell backward into Neville causing them both to fall down a flight of stairs," laughed Naruto.

"Oh, but I felt just awful about it," protested Hermione, "Why do you think I was in that bathroom?"

"Well, I think it's going to take a bit more to convince Ron and Neville of that," said Harry looking over at the glowering pair. Whether they were glowering from Naruto's laughter or at Hermione was difficult to say.

"Oh, but I really am sorry," said Hermione trying not to cry.

Finally Ron sighed heavily, "Listen Hermione, I'm sorry for the way I mouthed off to you again. I probably deserved to get decked but sometimes you are just so frustrating. You know everything and sometimes it is just too much."

"Anyway, what happened?" asked Neville of Harry and Naruto after Ron's apology.

"Snape arrived and yelled at us for being out of bounce during the crisis. He completely failed to notice the troll. It clubbed him once or twice that we saw before Dumbledore arrived," explained Harry.

"Dumbledore was awesome," said Naruto, "He just waved his wand and took the club from the beast and then beat it with its own club. It was so cool!"

"And then he just burned the troll's body," said Harry.

"What about Snape? Was he taken to St. Mungos?" asked a concerned Hermione.

"No, Dumbledore said it was too late by then. Snape had already died," said Harry without remorse.

"Doesn't it bother you that you saw him die like that?" asked Hermione.

Harry and Naruto shrugged with indifference.

"The way I see it, he got what was coming to him," said Harry savagely remembering some of what Kyubi had told him. Harry and Naruto both ignored the looks from their friends, continuing on to a new subject of conversation.

"Anyway, they say the new teacher should be here at the end of the weak. Me and Harry have to show him around," said Naruto, "Some kind of punishment for being out of bounds."

"Oh, but you shouldn't be punished. You were both just trying to find me," said Hermione trying her best to ignore Naruto and Harry's reactions to Snape's death.

"That's what I said," shouted Naruto, "But Dumbledore thinks we should take responsibility for our actions or some such garbage."

"It sucks too, I guess this new teacher with be the new head of house for the Slytherin's," said Harry.

"But why not send a Slytherin student to show her around?" asked Neville also doing his best to move past his friends' odd reaction to death.

"Maybe Dumbledore thinks the Slytherin Students are too stupid to show the new teacher around," joked Naruto.

"Or maybe he just doesn't trust the Slytherin students," added Ron.

"Either way we're stuck with it. We have to meet this guy in Dumbledore's office on Saturday after the feast welcoming the new teacher," complained Naruto.

"Yeah, so you'll have to do your work out without us," said Harry sadly before he looked at Ron, "And no skipping on the laps."

"I would never," defend Ron earning a look from all of his friends.

**BREAK**

She didn't like this at all and she certainly didn't have to like it. This . . . _Magic_ was not something she liked the sound of. It sounded cheap and non-lethal. Nothing fun about it at all. However, she had to admit that some of the potions listed in the text did sound . . . entertaining.

Finally she arrived to the office to await her transport.

"Glad you've made it on time," said Sarutobi, "Your transport should arrive in a moment."

And just like that there was a giant of a man standing in his office.

"Hello again sir," said the giant of a man.

"Hello again Hagrid," said Sarutobi.

"Wish we had more time an' all but I really got to get back with the new teacher. Where is he?"

"That would me Blackbeard," said the woman.

"Right then, grab hold," he held out a shoe to her.

She grimaced at the foul object but took hold only to feel a great pull behind her navel.

Suddenly she appeared before the giant doors of a castle.

"We've got to hurry, the feast is about to start and Dumbledore wanted to introduce you," said Hagrid leading the way inside.

The woman was still quite disoriented from the trip but alert all the same bristling with weapons in attack position.

"Yep, yer jus' like them boys, same landing an' everythin'," said Hagrid as he pushed open the giant doors to the Great Hall.

"Ah, welcome, welcome," said Dumbledore greeting the newest addition to his staff, "If I might have word with you before I introduce you to the students."

She nodded and followed him into an anteroom just off the Great Hall.

"First let me welcome you here. I trust you have been well prepared by Sarutobi prior to your departure. I would just like a moment to ask you of your plans with regards to Naruto and Harry?"

"I am to be their Jounin Instructor. It is my job to keep them alive and train them to become Chuunin and one Jounin themselves," she answered.

"I understand, as long as you don't allow it to affect your ability to teach the students then we shall have no problems. Now, I believe we should introduce you to the students before the rumors fly too far," said Albus motioning her to lead the way to the Great Hall.

"Well now students," began Dumbledore, "I know that it is sad lose such a fine potion's master and mentor but alas, we must all move on. It is to my great pleasure to introduce you all to Miss . . ." He then looked at her, through all of this he realized that he never asker her name.

"Anko Mitarashi brats," she answered with a grin to match Naruto's. She was going to have such fun messing with these brats' minds.

**BREAK**

Naruto and Harry were instantly on guard when they saw her enter. She was dressed like a shinobi, carried a weapon's pouch like and shinobi, and she observed the room exactly as a shinobi would upon entering. She wasn't very tall. She had light brown hair and eyes to match. She also seemed to radiate and aura that said mess with me and I'll castrate you. She wore a long beige coat with a chain mesh shirt that barely covered up the important bits. He wore simple black pants and black sandals. The only thing missing was her Hitai-ate.

Naruto was carefully fingering his weapons under the table completely ignoring the Ramen Noodles waiting to be eaten.

Anko sat down and ate nearly as much Ramen as Naruto usually did. However, Naruto and Harry we both studying how she moved. Soon enough the dishes vanished.

Up at the head table Anko was patting her full stomach, "Well, at least you guys know how to make a good meal here. Now, how about some Dango for dessert?"

"I'm afraid, that since the arrival of Naruto and Harry, we've not been able to get the house elves to serve anything but ramen for lunch and dinner and only fruit for breakfast," explained Dumbledore with a sigh.

"Where's the kitchen?" asked Anko standing up. She could sense the two brats itching to confront her.

Albus smiled and gave her brief directions. As she left, he gave her a quick 'Good luck'.

Anko left the hall and as she expected, Naruto and Harry followed her right out of the Great Hall. Anko wanted to test their abilities a bit and as such was purposely loud about her destination.

Naruto and Harry followed her cautiously into what they knew was a trap. Once in the hall they watch Anko stretch before walking towards the kitchens with a purpose.

Naruto and Harry went into high stealth blending in completely with the walls.

Anko was slightly impressed that the pair had learned a camouflage technique. She'd sent her clone ahead so that she could observe the pair in secret. She had tracked their chakra signatures through the halls. She only became slightly worried when they deviated course from the path of her clone. It was then that she was surrounded by several loud pops of smoke each giving birth to a clone of either Harry or Naruto.

"Not bad brats," said Anko only slightly impressed, "Tell me, what gave it away?"

Naruto sniffed the air, "You smell like a snake."

Anko giggled, "Oh you are interesting ones, aren't you?" Suddenly several snakes shot from her sleeves each destroying a clone.

"What do you want from us?" asked Naruto from an unseen location.

"Yeah, why are you here? Who sent you?" asked Harry from another location.

Anko suddenly drove both her elbows straight back connecting with Naruto and Harry's stomach causing their camouflage to drop. "You'll have to try harder than that if you hope to beat me."

Naruto and Harry both smile before bursting into a plume of smoke.

Before Anko could finish turning back she took two fists to her stomach. Both boys smirked at their success before Anko smiled and burst into smoke.

"Shit," said Naruto just before he took an open handed strike to the side of his face slamming him bodily in to the ground. He distinctly heard Kyubi laughing at Naruto's bad luck.

Harry jumped away and created several clones in an attempt to create confusion long enough for him to use the camouflage technique again.

"Interesting idea," whispered a sickeningly sweet voice in his ear before he saw blackness.

"They'll do, I suppose," she said to herself as he tied them up and dragged them behind her to the kitchens.

Once in the kitchen she hung them both from the ceiling making the house elves very nervous. She then doused them both with some freezing cold water.

"Hello boys," she said with a grin, "That was a lot of fun. I honestly thought you'd be down in under a minute. Turns out you lasted a whole three minutes. That's not bad for little Genin like you."

"Torture us all you want, you won't get anything out of us," said Naruto defiantly.

"We'll see about that," said Anko with a grin that sent shivers down their spines, "Let's start with getting these elves to add Dango to every meal and then we'll go from there."

That seemed to have puzzled the both of them greatly, "Huh?"

"You heard me, now talk or I'll start taking important bits off and making a nice tea with them," with that she prodded each of their nether regions with a kunai.

The pair paled at that thought but didn't say anything.

"Again, how do I get the house elves to add Dango to every meal?" she asked icily.

"Never," said Harry.

Anko just laughed at them, "Oh, you've got some nerve boys. I've clearly beaten you and yet you still insist on acting tough. Why don't we try this then? You ask a question and I'll answer it but then you owe me the same."

"What are you here for?"

"I'm here to teach potions to a school full of pampered children who know nothing of the real world, yourselves included," said Anko, "Now my turn, how do I get these elves to add Dango to every meal?"

Naruto and Harry looked at each other having an entire conversation without talking, "Dimples."

A rather large elf approached, "Yes sirs?"

"Ramen is the greatest food in the world," said Naruto.

"Oh thank you sirs," said the elf Dimples, "Now we can be serving good foods again."

"Oh no you can't," said Anko, "You are to keep the menu the same but add Dango to every meal."

"Dango ma'am?" asked the elf earning him a look of disbelief from Anko who was soon explaining exactly what Dango was and how it was made.

"Now, the new password is 'Ramen is the greatest food in the world but Dango is the greatest dessert in the world'," said Anko with a great big grin.

"You know, if you weren't here to kill us, you'd actually be pretty cool," said Naruto.

"Who said I was here to kill you," she said as she took her Hitai-ate from her pocket and put it around her forehead proudly displaying the leaf symbol.

"You're from Konoha?" asked Harry in disbelief.

"I'm from Konoha," said Anko with a grin.

"But why are you here?" asked Naruto.

"That ojisan asked ojisan to send someone to teach potions and keep an eye on you two. Ojisan felt that you two had been given to much free reign and sent me to remedy the problem. He's also appointed me as your team leader."

"Eh, does that mean you're our Jounin-sensei?" asked Harry in shock.

"Unfortunately, yes," said Anko before she sliced the roped binding them allowing them to drop to the floor. "That wasn't bad teamwork by you two back there but there is definitely some room for improvement. First and foremost, you're really fucking slow, and don't give me any bullshit about wearing extra weights because I watched you disable the weight seals. Second, you used all of two Jutsu the whole time. While you may have used them well, you could have used a few more techniques to have attacked before you resorted to Taijutsu and from my understanding of your file, you should have had more than a few techniques at your disposal including a few rather nasty fucking Katon Jutsu. We'll have more to discuss once I've had a better chance to evaluate you two. For now, let's go and enjoy some Dango." Anko then grabbed each of them by the ear and march them back to the Great Hall.

Once entering the Great Hall she marched Harry and Naruto right back to their seats and sat them down. "We'll talk again after dessert."

Naruto and Harry could only nod in embarrassment.

"What did you two do?" asked Hermione in disbelief.

"She seemed odd so we followed her," said Harry making something up on the fly.

"And she caught us," said Naruto sheepishly.

Meanwhile up at the head table Anko was happily enjoying her Dango with a smile and her feat perched up on the table.

"How exactly did you convince the elves to change the menu exactly?" asked Dumbledore.

"You just have to know how to talk to them," said Anko as she began on another of her 'oh so delicious' Dango.

As ordered, Naruto and Harry showed up to Dumbledore's office after the meal finished.

"You could have warned us," yelled Naruto as he entered the office.

"Yeah, no shit, what the hell was that?" asked an angry Harry.

"Do you have any idea how close we came to killing her?" asked Naruto.

"Ha," laughed Anko out loud, "You weren't even in the ball park brat."

"You just don't know," said Naruto, "I was seconds from letting Kyubi out to play with you."

"I thought you said Kyubi was laughing at us," said Harry stupidly before Naruto glared at him.

Anko just laughed even harder.

"In my defense, I did not know who Sarutobi was sending," said Dumbledore.

"Yeah, but you knew he was sending someone to watch over us," defend Naruto pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Indeed," said Harry with a huff and crossing his arms stubbornly.

"I am sorry that you are feeling neglected in this instance, however, it was not my decision to tell you," said Dumbledore.

"That's right, it was old man Hokage's choice not to tell you. He wanted me to test you for myself," said Anko finally coming out of her laughter.

"Well now, let's move on to more important things," said Dumbledore leaning back in his chair, "Boys, I expect you to help Miss Mitarashi become acclimated to this world. As such, I have arranged for you to take her to Diagon Alley tomorrow. And please, do be careful."

"Fine, fine," said Naruto and Harry waving off the old man.

"Get some sleep brats," said Anko, "I'll be waking you tomorrow at four."

Naruto and Harry both blanched at that thought. They were used to waking up early but that was crazy. Nonetheless they did as they were told and marched back to their dorms to sleep.

As promise Anko woke them up at 4:00AM by dowsing them with cold water, "Hurry and get ready, you're already late."

Naruto and Harry grumbled a bit as they dressed themselves for the day. It was already starting off bad and was about to get worse.

Anko smiled brightly as the boys exited the tower at long last, "Let's start of with a brisk jog." She then brandished several senbon needles, "Each one is poisoned. It won't kill you but it will slow you down a lot, even you Kyubi brat."

Naruto and Harry just swallowed nervously before they started running as fast as they were able to and dodging flying needles at the same time. Anko kept this up for at least an hour, not that the boys had time to check how long they had been at it. And things were just getting started.

Following the run she began tactical simulations out the forbidden forest. They were given an example of a situation and had to come up with a solution and then prove that it worked by using it against her. It was surprising to both of them how difficult it really was. They had trained their teamwork in a fight forever and as such always worked together smoothly. This, however, was something they hadn't experienced. Sure, the academy would briefly cover situations like this in which you would have to devise a strategy but they never actually got to try to put them into practice. They quickly learned that most of what the academy suggested, hardly worked if at all. Anko for her part always filled the roles of the situation perfectly dumbing down her abilities where necessary.

"Well, not bad for our first day," said Anko with a smile as she snacked on her Dango.

Naruto and Harry however were on their back panting for air.

"So, go and get cleaned up and don't even think about being late to my first class or I just might castrate you after all," said Anko, "Oh, and before I forget, I want you both to double your weights tomorrow." With that said Anko vanished in a whirl of leaves.

"She's crazy," whined Naruto as he plucked a senbon out of his shoulder and another from his neck.

"Just kill me now," said Harry not bothering with the senbon scattered about his body, "It will hurt less."

"Come on Harry, let's just get back before the other notice we're gone without them," said Naruto crawling back towards the castle. The Kyubi was being rather stubborn about helping him this time.

Harry soon joined him in his excruciatingly slow crawl back to the castle and common room.

Naruto and Harry entered only to see Ron, Neville, and Hermione waiting for them.

"Where have you been, we've been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes?" asked Hermione tapping her foot impatiently.

Harry looked at the clock and said only one word, "Kuso!" He then slowly turned around and started back out of the common room and towards the grounds for their training with their friends.

Harry and Naruto were so tired on the run that even Neville, the slowed of all of them, beat them around the lake by a long shot.

"What's with you two?" asked Ron seeing Naruto and Harry almost forced to crawl that last few feet of the run.

"Anko-sensei," said Naruto falling to the ground.

"Professor Mitarashi?" asked Hermione, "What about her?"

"Detention," said Harry joining Naruto.

"4:00 AM," said a muffled Naruto.

Harry just grunted.

"Oh my," said Hermione, "No wonder you're so tired."

"Is this for last night at the feast?" asked Ron.

Naruto grunted.

"What did she make you do?" asked Neville who was confused as to how a detention could have drained them so much.

"Training," Naruto answered as he tried to push himself off the ground to no avail. He did however manage to turn himself over.

"Training for what exactly?" asked Hermione just now noticing the state of their clothing and all of the little holes scattered about them.

"Voldemort," said Harry not really caring at this point if he got into trouble.

"Are you saying that Professor Mitarashi was brought here specifically to train you to fight against V-V, you know who?" asked Hermione.

Harry who had now rolled over nodded to her.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"And that is as much as you three need to know," said an authoritative voice from behind Hermione startling her and the other quite a bit.

Hermione turned and quickly backed away from the teacher, "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were there."

"Good," said Anko with a smile, "That means I'm doing my job. Now, I expect that you three will keep this a secret?"

"Of course," said Hermione quickly.

"Good girl, now I won't have to kill you," said Anko with a smile that told them she wasn't kidding about killing them. "Now then boys and girl, stop lazing about and get back to work or I'll make you triple your weight tomorrow."

That managed to get Naruto and Harry up very quickly and back to their workout. Unfortunately, Anko wasn't about to leave them unsupervised now that she knew what they were up to. Secrecy had to be maintained even if it meant killing them all.

"Now, don't be late for my lesson," said Anko sweetly as she departed.

The group collectively shivered at the sound of her voice now. Just that little bit of time with her supervising their training had left a powerful impression on them.

**BREAK**

"Welcome to potions, you will call me Anko-Sensei and nothing else. If you piss me of I just might remove an appendage. While Dumbledore has forbidden me to kill you, don't think for an instant that I won't inflict some pain on you if you fuck with my world. Now, we're going to start today lesson a bit differently. I've already gotten permission to make this first lesson last the first half of the day. So, to begin, we're going outside for a little run," she smiled ruefully at the looks on the faces of her students. She managed to convince Dumbledore to give her all the houses at once for their first lesson. It just happened that first years where her first lesson.

Naruto and Harry looked as if they were about to drop from exhaustion as it was and Anko's idea of a little run was to run around the Quidditch pitch for an hour. If you fell, she made damn sure you stood up again. If you slowed down too much, she ensured you would find the motivation to pick up the pace again.

"Now that we're all nice and awake let's go inside for a nice cool drink," said Anko sinisterly as she guided her impressionable students into the safety of her classroom. It was an oxymoron if there ever was one but most of them didn't know that yet.

Sitting in front of each chair was a nice glass of cool and refreshing water waiting for them. Like locusts the students fell upon the water without thinking, including Naruto and Harry.

Once the water had been demolished she spoke, "Congratulations." You've all just ingested a poison that will kill you two hours if you don't brew the antidote."

At that all of the students paled considerably. A few of the girls even fainted.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you. Poison is often invisible, tasteless, and odorless otherwise it is completely worthless. This particular variety will show no symptoms of any kind other than killing you instantly two hours after ingestion. There is only one antidote for it. I would suggest you get to work or this school will missing it's entire first year due to sudden death." Anko then turned over one of the chalkboards revealing a very complicate potion formula that would take exactly one hour and forty minutes to brew. If even a single mistake was made then it would be completely ruined. "Now pair off and get to work."

Anko then sat on top of her desk and began to eat Dango. With each Dango she finished she would throw the remaining toothpick at either Naruto or Harry who were expected to dodge, block, or catch it.

The students were already exhausted from the run. Their minds were cloudy with sleep and tiredness. It was exactly as Anko had planned.

Slowly one by one a student would realize they made a mistake in their potion and broke into tears and one by one Anko escorted them out of the room offering her condolences so that the entire class could hear her. Once in the hall the students began to queue in defeat waiting for their time to die.

Neville's failure was met horribly by Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Naruto. Their friend failed to brew a potion and now he was going to die for it. Hermione began to hyper-ventilate and completely messed up her and Ron's potion as a result which made her feel even worse. Harry and Naruto though redoubled their efforts to brew the potion to perfection in the hopes of saving the others. Soon the class was whittled down rapidly. In the end only Malfoy and Zabini remained along with Naruto and Harry.

"You should be finished in exactly . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1. If you haven't finished then you've failed and your potions are ruined because they took too long to brew," said Anko harshly before she opened the door and ordered all of the students back into the room. As they all entered they noticed that not only was Anko very pissed off but there was also a look of disappointment behind her eyes.

Once all of the students entered, crying or otherwise she spoke again. "I suppose I should congratulate you all once again. You're all dead or you would be if I actually gave you poison. You stupidly took what was offered to you and assumed it was safe simply because I gave it to you. You can't always trust teachers. Sometimes we'll betray you to serve our own purposes. If that had been a real situation you would have failed miserably. Sometimes you will be in situations that demand you keep your heads, stay calm and act to save your life and the lives of others. I hope you all learn from this experience, now get the fuck out of my sight, you all make me sick to my stomach." Anko then vanished in a whirl of dust and leaves that should not have been there.

Most of the class was relieved to still be alive and completely disregarded her warnings. However, some of the students truly took to heart what she had told them. But no one took it as bad or as hard and Naruto and Harry did. They had failed their teacher completely and worse, they had failed their friends. It was as if a light had illuminated the world for Naruto and Harry. They suddenly understood what Anko expected of them and hoped that they would learn from her.

"I'll not fail again," said Naruto under his breath and then he shouted for the world to hear, "I will never again fail to protect my friends . . . NEVER!" With that Naruto stormed out of the room to blow of some steam. He was angrier with himself than anything.

While Harry didn't say anything he stormed out of the room as well looking to blow off some steam of his own.

Hermione, Ron, and Neville all went their own ways as well. They had a lot to think about.

Once the classroom cleared Anko release her camouflage technique and smiled to herself, "There is hope for them yet. I hope you mean what you say Naruto, I truly do."


	7. Chapter 7

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"Crazy, homicidal, psycho biatch!" screamed Naruto at the top of his lungs. It was Christmas break and Harry and Naruto were made to stay behind by Anko despite an invitation from Hermione and Ron. As it was now the castle was beautiful. There was snow everywhere covering everything. Most of the lake had iced over except for near the center where the water was content to just be freezing cold. It was also in this center that Naruto and Harry could be found on their ninth hour of treading water with Anko watching gleefully in her nice warm coat. She had literally begun the morning by marching them out to the center of the lake and stripping them down before plunging them into the freezing water unceremoniously.

"What's wrong?" asked Anko in a sickly sweet voice, "Are you little babies cold? Well too damn bad, you're going to stay there until you collapse of chakra exhaustion from trying to keep yourselves warm.

Naruto and Harry learned very quickly with Anko that she had some unusual ways of training. They learned how to ignore heat and prevent burning by using chakra. Of course the fact that they had to lay on hot beds of coal for weeks on end only encouraged them to learn the skill quickly. Now they were 'learning' how to stay warm in the coldest of climates and it really didn't get much colder than Hogwarts Lake in the dead of winter.

"Bitch," chattered through their teeth Naruto and Harry simultaneously.

"Thank you," said Anko, "But if you think I'm bad now . . ."

They never liked it when she said that to them. It never ended well for either of them.

"Watch my hands and repeat," said Anko moving rapidly through hand seals, "Mizuhai no Jutsu".

Naruto and Harry did as she instructed.

Anko smiled, "I would advise you get underwater now." She then started another set of hand seals before taking a very deep breath Koori: Bakuhatsu no Jutsu," she then breathed out releasing a silvery mist that froze over the top of the lake completely. "Now, enjoy yourselves boys." She then left them to find their own way out.

Underwater Naruto and Harry were both struck with a simple and utter disbelief. They were now trapped under a frozen lake trying not to freeze to death by using chakra and using even more chakra to keep the water lung technique working to allow them to breathe.

"Well this sucks," said Naruto though only bubbles could be seen.

Harry though got the gist of it and agreed wholeheartedly.

Naruto tried punching the ice above him but that only served to hurt his hand and make him more frustrated because he had willing given up his weapons to Anko. Willing might not have been the right word for it, more like didn't resist as much as usual.

Meanwhile Anko was enjoying her walk back to the castle for some nice warm hot chocolate. Other than Dango that was now her absolute favorite thing in the world, especially in this frozen hell known as Britain. Anko entered the castle with a bounce in her step as she happily made her way to the Great Hall for some of the aforementioned beverage.

"Good Morning Professor," greeted Dumbledore with a smile and twinkle in his eye.

_Damn old men and their tricks_, thought Anko as she took up her seat at the head table just waiting for Dumbledore to trap her in some way. "What do you want?" she asked rather harshly.

"I was merely curious as to the state of your usually troublesome shadows?" said Dumbledore.

"They are studying," said Anko.

"I see," said Dumbledore, "And what exactly are they studying this time. Not heat resistance I should think with this cold."

"Nope," said Anko sipping on her cocoa happily.

Then Dumbledore noticed the open bag sitting on the floor next to her, "That wouldn't be their clothes would it?"

"Might be," said Anko as she grabbed a Dango trying her best to ignore the old man.

"Would it be safe to assume they are now naked somewhere?" asked Dumbledore.

"I wouldn't leave them naked somewhere," said Anko looking the man straight in the eyes. _Not naked, they still have their underwear_.

"Oh, then where are they?" asked Dumbledore.

"I told you, they are studying," said Anko. If Ibiki couldn't get her to crack, she'd be damned if she ever cracked for this soft hearted old man.

"Where are they studying so diligently on winter holiday?" asked Dumbledore with a friendly smile.

"I'm not exactly sure where they are studying at now," said Anko with a smile. It was true, they were probably moving by now and well on their way to escaping her little training exercise.

"Miss Mitarashi," said Dumbledore, "Should I be worried about the repercussion they will deliver upon us all in an ill-conceived plot for revenge?"

"There is nothing to be 'revenged' upon," said Anko with a grin that told otherwise.

Dumbledore finally decided this was getting him nowhere fast and decided to sit back and enjoy his breakfast.

It was almost another hour before a nearly blue pair of students charged into the Great Hall in only their underwear.

"Anko-Sensei," chattered Harry.

"We will . . . kill you," chattered Naruto straining to point a finger at her before both he and Harry stormed out to find warmth.

"Faster than I thought," said Anko checking her watch with a grin completely ignoring the look of disbelief she was getting from Dumbledore and the other staff members, "But I still think they can do better. I guess we'll have to try again tomorrow."

Dumbledore sighed in defeat. He may not have approved of her methods but they were certainly effective. He was also learning very quickly, that the less he knew of her training methods, the better he slept at night. Things had definitely gotten far more interesting in Hogwarts than he would have thought possible.

**BREAK**

"Cold," mumbled Naruto and he draped another fluffy blanket around himself. His count was up to about fifteen blankets.

"She's completely nuts," added Harry for good measure before he tossed a few more logs onto the already roaring fire.

"This can't be safe," said Naruto bitterly before adding another blanket to his growing pile.

"I don't think anything she does is safe," said Harry, "How can she get away with this?"

"She's our Jounin Sensei," said Naruto answering the question. They may not have known much about the team structure but they were well aware of the fact that once placed on a team, the Jounin instructor was pretty much free to do anything they wanted to their students including, but not limited to, just shy of death.

They were therefore stuck and it wasn't going to change until they at least made it to Chuunin and even then, if she chose to, they would continue to train under her until they made it to Jounin.

Suddenly the bell tolled signaling the need to leave for afternoon training.

The pair met Anko out on the grounds in their usual spot only for her not to be their.

"Did she forget?" asked Harry as he surveyed the see of white when suddenly he felt a knife against his throat. "Then again, maybe not." Harry then saw Naruto in a similar situation.

Anko released her hold on the boys and dismissed her clone, "In real combat you'd already be dead . . . again. Snow is one of the shinobi's greatest tools but it is also one of a shinobi's greatest enemies. Snow naturally muffles any sound you make, hence it is harder for you to be heard but also for you to hear anyone coming for you. So today, we're going to work on our listening skills." She then tossed each of them a blind fold, "Put it on. You have two hours to find me." Once the blind folds were on she took to walking silently around the pair. There was no crunch of snow as she walked, no clothes flapping in the wind, and no scent to lead them to her.

She studied them both carefully, watching to see who would pick her up first. She thought that Harry would as he had better control of his chakra. On the other hand Naruto had a much higher developed sense of hearing thanks to the fox, but he was much less patient. Only time would tell.

Naruto was indeed getting impatient trying to seek out the 'pyscho-biatch' or more commonly known as Anko-Sensei to no avail. He knew he should have listened to Kyubi's speeches about mastering his fox senses but then Kyubi never set that as a skill necessary for him to learn something else from the bastard. Now he was regretting it for the simple fact that if he and Harry didn't find Anko inside of two hours she would do something horrible to both of them.

"**Focus brat, stop thinking about her and your cousin and every other little thing that is constantly speeding through your mind and focus on hearing. Listen to the wind, she will speak to you. You are now fox, listen to the mother's words that are carried on the wind. She will tell you what you need to know."**

Now Naruto was really confused. Kyubi sounded almost poetic and soulful. There was no sarcasm or anger, just peace and calm. Having nothing to loose he forced himself to calm down and listen, not for Anko but for the wind. It was everywhere around him constantly moving. And then he heard it bend to move around things. He heard the wind bend around the castle harshly as it pounding against the stones before moving in all directions along the surface. He heard the wind move through the trees in soft turns and bends. And then he heard something different. Something that sounded eerie and yet powerful

"_This way"_

Naruto turned sharply towards the voice but it was gone as soon as he moved. His heart was suddenly thundering with excitement and even a little fear. He'd heard a voice but it didn't belong to anyone present and yet it was there all the same. Naruto strained to hear it again but there was nothing. Then he noticed that he didn't hear the wind against the castle or going through the trees but he didn't know why.

Anko was surprised when Naruto suddenly turned to look right at her but then he looked almost fearful and then excited followed closely by confused. She had an inkling that he was learning something new and important but she honestly had no idea what it was.

"**Calm yourself brat. You cannot listen when you are so damn excited. Calm!"**

Naruto shared a few choice words with the Kyubi for distracting him before he listened to Kyubi's advice and forced himself to calm down again. Soon his ears were filled again with the wind and her movements.

"_She is here"_

Naruto tried to remain calm this time after hearing the voice he turned towards the voice and followed it as the voice moved.

"_This way . . . over here . . . danger . . . coming fast"_

With the last warning Naruto ducked only to feel a few of his hairs cut free.

"_Behind"_

Naruto quickly turned to his rear to block only to find that his blind fold was removed to see Anko nod at him approvingly before motioning for him to be silent. And then using the hand code she'd made them memorize, instructed him to sit and be silent or else she would break his fingers one by one, joint by painful joint.

Naruto knew better than to piss her off and sat without question in the freezing snow. This however did give him a chance to think on the mysterious voice. He really only had one source of answers but he wasn't sure as to how forthcoming the source would be.

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated on the familiar dreary halls that lined his own consciousness. Within moments he was standing within those familiar water filled halls. He began his trek to find the Kyubi in hopes of getting his questions answered.

Soon enough he was before the cage. It seemed that Kyubi was waiting for him. The fox was sitting on its haunches with all nine tails spread out behind it. It seemed much calmer than when Naruto usually saw him. This actually made him more fearful of the fox than when he was in a rage of anger.

"**She is magnificent is she not**," said Kyubi with what looked like a fond smile.

"I don't understand. What was that? How could I hear that voice?"

"**She is the mother of all, her voice is carried on the wind to speak to all her children and help them as they need. She has been very angry with me however for the last millennia or two**," said Kyubi with a bit of a chuckle at the end.

"Okay, I still don't get it. What do you mean mother? Your mother?" asked Naruto slightly fearful of another Kyubi.

"**Insolent brat, do you not listen to her words? Do you not understand what she is the mother of? Think!"**

"I could hear her but the words were broken," said Naruto, "I don't understand at all how it's even possible."

"**She is mother of all of nature. She speaks to all creatures and helps to guide them in their lives. When she has stopped speaking, you know your time has come. She stopped speaking to me nearly two millennia ago but I fought against her will and became the great demon you hear of in stories. Since I have . . . _joined_ . . . with you so completely now she has once more begun to speak but not to me. She speaks to you and if you would learn to listen properly you would know all this**," said Kyubi almost bitterly but somewhat regretfully.

"Can others hear her then?" asked Naruto still not completely certain of what was really happening.

"**No, only you and those of nature, the animals and spirits that roam our world can hear her voice and understand**," lectured Kyubi, "**Why else would I have stressed for you to learn to use your senses properly beyond the obvious benefits? You are but a foolish child still**."

Naruto didn't like what he was about to say but he knew it was necessary, "Can you help to learn then? Can you teach me to listen?"

"**No brat, I cannot, this is something you must learn on your own. I would suggest you ask that cat to help you. She would understand better than you think**."

Naruto was suddenly forcefully ejected from Kyubi's presence and back to reality to see Harry bleeding a bit from a few cuts and scratches from Anko's kunai and shuriken that she threw at him but he had removed his blind fold and was smiling at his success until he notice that Naruto didn't have a scratch on him.

"What the hell, how come you're not cut up?" asked Harry a bit annoyed.

"I just figured it out faster," said Naruto cheekily.

"Shut up brats, this is only the beginning, an introduction if you will to the things to come. I want you two to think about what you did to find me and then I want you to improve upon it. From now on, every time I get the drop on either of you, it will result in both pain and training, probably at the same time. Now, get lost and get to work."

"What did you do Naruto?" asked Harry once they were clear of Anko.

"It's hard to explain," said Naruto thoughtfully, "I guess I just learned a new way to listen that Kyubi taught me. But he says I have to get a lot better at it."

"Can you teach me?" asked Harry.

"No," said Naruto sadly, "It has to do with my fox senses."

"Oh," said Harry. This was yet one more thing that Naruto could do that Harry couldn't to the continually expanding list. For the most part Harry didn't let it get him down too much because he seemed to be taking to magic much more easily than Naruto was. Anko was also teaching him several new techniques that she couldn't teach Naruto because the fox wouldn't have anything to do with it. Anko had a thing for snakes and Harry didn't really mind snakes so he didn't mind learning from her. Naruto and the fox though were both adamant about not learning anything to do with snake magic.

It was actually approaching a divergence point for both of them as far as the direction their techniques would take them. Anko was quite adamant that Harry could not be a copy of Naruto and his techniques without Naruto's bloodline to work with him. She was becoming more forceful everyday that Harry needed to be his own person with his own techniques just as Naruto needed to be his own person with his own techniques. While they both had the same base of skills to work from was a great thing, they were now both ready to move in their own directions.

"Harry," called Anko as the pair continued on silently, "I just remembered something, you and I are going to have some private lessons."

Naruto would have been disappointed if it wasn't for the fact that he had his own path to follow in becoming the kind of ninja he wanted to be. "I'll catch up with you later Harry, I've got some other things in the works right now anyway."

"Right then, catch you up later," said Harry before he ran back to Anko.

"Okay brat," said Anko once Harry returned, "I've been thinking about this for a while and I've decide that you can no longer use the same Taijutsu as Naruto. It just won't work for you as you get older because you cannot use his bloodline. Now before you argue or complain about all the hard work you've already put into it just shut up and let me explain. Even now when you use that style you tend to rely on your speed and accuracy but you put no power into your attacks. That is the fatal flaw for you and that style. Small attacks will never allow you to win against Naruto with that style nor anyone of Chuunin level or higher."

"So what should I do?" asked Harry not liking what she said but still seeing the truth of her statement.

"While I despise the person that taught me, I will teach you the style I use. It is a form of kung-fu based on the movements of snakes, we call it Hebi-dō. It relies on quick and sudden strikes with your fingers to major pressure points delivering intense pain, sometimes even crippling pain. For your size and agility it will be perfect for you, however, I must warn you that if you learn this style you will not be well received in most villages nor even Konoha. I am a pariah to the village for my knowledge of it and you will be too if you choose to listen to me. I also realize that you may not like snakes very well as that Voldemort character is often associated with them but . . ."

"If will help me to kill him then I don't care," said Harry steeling himself as soon as she mentioned Voldemort. "As far as I'm concerned he gives snakes a bad name."

Anko smirked at that, "Good, then let's begin.

**BREAK**

Naruto only had one thought on his mind as he separated from Harry. He needed to sort out this . . . hearing thing and all his other senses. So, his first stop was the 'Cat-Lady' as Kyubi called her.

Naruto knocked on her office door.

"Come in," called a voice from inside the office.

Naruto entered. She smiled at him as he entered, "Can I help you with something Mr. Kazama?"

"Umm, this might sound a bit strange," said Naruto as a prelude.

"I have no doubt that it will," said McGonagall with a small smile.

"Umm, first I have to ask you to promise me you'll keep this a secret?" said Naruto. He couldn't very well ask her to help him if she didn't know exactly what the problem was.

McGonagall observed him for a moment before she waved her wand sealing her office door, "I promise you that whatever we discuss in here will remain in here and between us."

"Thank you," said Naruto taking a seat, "Well, I'm not really sure how to start but here it goes. I am part fox."

McGonagall gave him a look that said in no uncertain terms that she wasn't happy with what he said. "Mr. Kazama, I thought you came here to talk with me seriously, not play another of your pranks or jokes. Now if you'll excuse me I am quite busy preparing for the term to begin."

"But I'm not playing," said Naruto forcefully, "I really am. Look at my eyes and you'll see it." Naruto then released the small Genjutsu that made is eyes look normal.

McGonagall gasped in shock, "But how is this possible?"

"I can't tell you that, it's secret but the fact is that I am," said Naruto lowering his eyes away from her.

McGonagall seemed torn between wanting the truth and wanting to help her student, "What can I do to help you?"

Naruto looked up suddenly surprised that she was willing to help him. "Well, it's my senses. Today, I was doing a listening exercise outside when I heard . . ."

"You heard her voice then did you?" asked McGonagall with a small but very fond smile.

"Yeah, how did you know?" asked Naruto.

"All Animagus eventually learn to hear her voice. We may not always understand what she says to us but we do hear her," said McGonagall, "So are you worried you're going crazy then, because you're not. You're very lucky to be able to hear her without being an animal or an Animagus."

"But how can I control it?" asked Naruto now slightly less worried.

"My boy, you cannot control her, you simply need to listen to her, hear her voice."

"I didn't mean to control her, I just meant, how can I control my hearing to hear her properly. I only hear a word or two of what she says but I never hear the entire message. I need to get better at this to understand what she's telling me."

"You mean you can actually hear the words? You can understand her?" asked McGonagall in shock and surprise, "Oh my, this is wonderful. You must tell me about it."

"You mean you don't hear her words?" asked Naruto.

"Oh my no, sometimes you can almost hear the words she is saying to you. Sometimes you just feel her presence comforting you," said McGonagall, "but to actually understand the voice and what she is telling you is something entirely new. No Animagus to date has ever understood what she is actually saying."

"Oh, so I can't get better at this then. Will it always be garbled and incomplete?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto, do not feel down about this at all. You are only just beginning to hear her voice. With time and practice you will hear more of what she is saying to you. You will find it easier to hear her as well. You won't need to focus on it so much and in time her voice will become a constant to you," said McGonagall with tears of pride welling up in her eyes.

"Can you help me then?" asked Naruto hopeful, "I really want to learn this as fast as possible."

"Well, the fastest way to hear the voice would be to embrace the fox side of yourself. Even better would be to change into the fox within," said McGonagall before she saw the look of horror spread across his face at the suggestion that he embrace the fox.

"No, I could never do that. The fox must stay contained," said Naruto, "If I let it out like that . . . it is enough to know that it is there but to embrace it . . . no, never."

"Mr. Uzumaki, I assure you that it would be completely safe. You wouldn't be letting anything out, just changing your physical body into that of a fox, you would still be you up here," she said reassuringly as she pointed to his head.

"I don't know," said Naruto still unsure of what would happen if he did such a thing. The Kyubi was supposed to be safely locked in its cage, sealed behind an impenetrable wall allowing only his chakra to seep out. But then, they were one now weren't they and that wasn't supposed to happen. Naruto wasn't sure what to think but if it allowed him to understand sooner than he would. It was a huge risk, but it was one he was willing to take. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Okay, we'll do it," said Naruto, "But I want you to be prepared to kill me if anything goes wrong."

McGonagall seemed surprised that Naruto would be so blunt as to have her promise to kill him if something went wrong. "Nothing will go wrong Naruto, I have supervised many students that have passed through these halls into becoming Animagus themselves. I am certainly capable of helping you as well."

"When can we start?" asked Naruto.

"How about now?" asked McGonagall, "Now, this transformation usually requires you to brew a potion to reveal your animal side, however, you are already aware of your animal side. You just need to call it forward."

"How do we do that?" asked Naruto.

"Slowly over the next year we will build up to it," said McGonagall with a smile to which Naruto pouted.

"But that's so long," he whined.

"Mr. Kazama, I understand how you feel about being patient, however, I must insist that this time you trust me. If you rush this there could be terrible and permanent damage to your body. For every step you make in this process you must be able to control 100 percent of your actions and the change process. That means being able to change and change back without struggling otherwise you may become trapped in such a form forever," lectured McGonagall causing Naruto to swallow nervously, "Now, let's begin."

**BREAK**

"Okay, ready?" asked Naruto as he checked his supplies once more.

"You better believe it," said Harry with a nod. This would be their last chance to get to that stone before they had to return to Konoha for the summer and after that they may not get another chance. This was the perfect opportunity. Dumbledore was away on business, something they found out thanks to a slip up by Professor McGonagall. Anko-sensei was buried in grading her exams, most of which she would probably use as a pillow to sleep on.

"Let's go then while the others are asleep," said Naruto as he led the way out of the dorm and stealthily through the halls towards the third floor corridor.

They were surprised when they found Fluffy sleeping soundly to a playing harp.

"Someone got here before us," said Naruto unhappily.

Harry though scowled in a righteous anger, "Voldemort." He then moved quickly and opened the trapdoor and jumped in without a second thought with Naruto hot on his heals.

"Devil's Snare," said Harry, "Let's burn it. Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu." Harry and Naruto both set loose a powerful stream of flames burning away the vines. Harry was a man possessed to get to Voldemort and kill him once and for all.

The next room was filled with keys. A quick shuriken toss knocking the right key out of the air and they were through. The next room was a giant chess board. They were both too impatient to play their way across and instead used the mass confusion that can only be caused by shadow clones to slip past the pieces and into the next room.

"Stupid word games," said Naruto reading the little note on the table with several vials that would lead into the next room.

"I hate word games," moaned Harry unhappily as he read the card again, "Can't we just use the heat resistance training to walk through it?"

"Have you ever seen black fire before?" asked Naruto observing the wall of flames awaiting them.

"Hmm, good point," said Harry, "Do you think you'd survive testing them?"

"Probably," said Naruto, "But it would probably knock me out of it for a while at least."

"Hmm," said Harry again studying the word game, "So, the ones that look the same should kill us right?" asked Harry tossing the identical vials away carelessly.

"That leaves us with three," said Naruto grabbing one of the vials observing it, "I think this one will get us back through to the other side."

"How do you know?" asked Harry.

"The fox said so," said Naruto with a grin.

"Did the stupid bastard solve the puzzle then?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, take this one to go through to the other side," said Naruto handing him a different vial.

"About time the fox was good for something," said Harry, "But what about you?"

"I'll wait here for you," said Naruto, "Just hurry up would you?"

Harry nodded before downing the potion and walking purposefully through the flames.

Naruto meanwhile decided to spend time working on his hearing as long as he was going to be waiting. He was interrupted a while later with the arrival of Dumbledore.

"Good evening Mr. Kazama," said Dumbledore.

"Shit," mumbled Naruto as he opened his eyes. Now they would never be able to steal the stone.

"Now, now, such language is unnecessary," said Dumbledore barely concealing his anger, "Now, where is Harry?"

"Dealing with Voldemort I'd imagine," said Naruto, "I would have helped him but there wasn't enough of the potion to join him."

Dumbledore frowned severely before he moved forward and dismissed the flames with a wave of his hand. He stormed into the room just as a specter of Voldemort fled but not without attacking Harry first.

Naruto turned to chase after specter before Dumbledore stopped, "Let him go, we must see to Harry now."

"He's fine, we have to catch him before he escapes," said Naruto resisting Dumbledore's grip.

"And how would you catch him? How would you hold him in such a state Mr. Kazama?" asked Dumbledore rhetorically knowing that Naruto didn't have an answer.

"I don't know but it is better than just letting him escape," said Naruto emotionally, "How can you ever expect to beat him if you just let him go like that? Are you really so foolish to think that you will have such an opportunity to imprison him again as you do right now?"

"I have made my decision," said Dumbledore ending the discussion before scooping up Harry and leaving in a hurry towards the hospital ward.

"You are a fool," said Naruto before following after him. This was not the way Shinobi were supposed to act. Harry was fine. The voice told him as much. He had a mission to see to but Dumbledore's orders took precedence as this was his facility.

**BREAK**

Harry woke up a few days later in the hospital wing to be surrounded by cards and candy and a sleeping Naruto. Naruto looked rather uncomfortable in the chair he was in but Harry knew that he wouldn't leave his side unless absolutely necessary.

"Hey, Naruto, wake up," said Harry nudging his cousin.

"Go away Anko-Sensei, just five more minutes," Naruto mumbled in his sleep allowing a long line of drool to slide down his chin and pool on his shirt.

"Wake up you lazy ass," shouted Harry causing Naruto shoot up out of his seat with Kunai in hand.

"Harry, you bastard, you're going to pay for that," said Naruto glaring at his cousin.

"Did you go after Voldemort?" asked Harry stopping his laughing and turning serious.

"Negative, permission denied by Dumbledore," said Naruto unhappily.

"Damn it," said Harry pounding the cot.

"Did you get the stone?" asked Naruto hopeful that something good would have come out of this.

"No damn it," said Harry, "I never had a chance. I barely got through the other side and started attacking Quirrel. It was gross, he had Voldemort growing out the back of his head." Harry shuddered for effect which was mimicked by Naruto.

"That's just wrong," said Naruto with an additional shudder.

Not much later after a stiff talking to from Dumbledore and Anko the boys returned to their dorms to pack their bags for the trip home.

"Hey guys," said Neville as they entered, "How's it going?"

"Damn Dumbledore," mumbled Naruto while Harry added Anko instead.

"Didn't go over very well did it?" asked Hermione in her normal voice.

"Obviously, do you know how many school rule they broke," said Ron, "Why didn't you ask me to come?"

Naruto and Harry couldn't help cracking a smile at Ron. He was definitely loyal and good friend.

"Hey, we took a big chance and failed," said Naruto, "Don't worry, there will be other times to come."

"Yeah, but this time would have been cooler," Ron pouted, "I heard about the chessboard. I could have won for you."

"He has a point," said Harry.

"You're all crazy," shouted Hermione finally having enough, "Have a nice summer, see you on the train next September." She then hugged Naruto and Harry before she left them behind.

"Just make sure you keep training this summer," shouted Naruto after her.

"Yeah, that goes for you two also," said Harry, "And Ron, try to get Ginny to join you. I'll write her a letter making sure she keeps on your case just to make sure."

Ron paled, "That was a bit below the belt mate."

"If it works then so be it," said Harry with a shrug before he happily started dumping all of his wizarding clothes and book into an empty trunk compartment content with the knowledge that he would have to deal with them for three months.

Naruto was soon doing likewise with a happy smile. The only thing he didn't pack away that came from the wizarding world was his fox glove which for one reason or another he couldn't seem to remove.

Not much later he and Harry were waiting for Anko so they could return to Konoha.

Dumbledore walked slowly towards the entry hall to bid his young students and Potions Mistress farewell. He contemplated the boys' attitudes and ways of thinking and of how their thoughts were constantly looking for the next move or angle. They were always up to one prank or another in an attempt to out do the Weasley twins and generally succeeding much to his displeasure. He was also slightly startled by how prepared they were to deal with any threat that approached them, he'd lost count of the times that Mr. Malfoy or one of his associates would end up in the hospital wing in any number of broken bones, cuts or knife wounds (those especially bothered him as he had to cover it up from the Board of Governors). Even knowing all of this, he could see the good in both of them. They would die to protect their friends and family, maybe even kill to protect it. They were an inspiration to their friends to never quit or give up despite the odds as exhibited by the exercise routine they had created. They were quite the enigma no matter how he looked at it.

"Well now," he greeted the three, "I do hope you all enjoyed your stay."

Naruto and Harry nodded politely. They enjoyed most of their time in the castle but they felt as though they weren't being challenged like they would have been back in Konoha. On the other hand, Anko made up for any possible challenges they could have faced.

"I see, then you are excited to be returning home?" asked Dumbledore with a smile.

"Are you kidding?" shouted Naruto, "I can't wait to show off all the cool shit Anko-sensei taught us."

Dumbledore chuckled, "And you Harry?"

"Of course, we finally get to do missions," said Harry, "Fighting bandits, rescuing people, steeling secret things . . . it's gonna be great."

Dumbledore didn't necessarily like the idea of the savior of wizarding world conducting himself in such a way but, the end justifies the means at this point. "Well, I will look forward to seeing all of you at the end of summer."

"Not if I can help it," said Anko adamantly.

"Oh, but my dear, you signed a magical contract binding you to a teaching post within this school until such time as I deem to release you of it," said Dumbledore smirking.

"Damn you old men and your damn tricks," yelled Anko ready to skewer the old man where he stood.

"Farewell," said Dumbledore before she had a chance to act. He then tossed a length of rope at the group which they all caught only to feel a massive jerk behind the navel signaling the start of their journey home.


	8. Chapter 8

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

Konoha had nearly a year of absolute peace and quiet within the village walls. Everything was calm, only the occasional gate disturbance or missing-nin capture disturbed it. It was as if a soft and soothing record was playing some classical tune that spoke volumes of the peace they had enjoyed. And then without warning the record was scratch loudly and abruptly completely destroying the peace they had so enjoyed.

Sandaime Hokage was enjoying the latest printing of a much acclaimed piece of literature written by his very own student when his peace was completely thrown off by the sudden arrival of three people in his office.

"Yo, ojisan," said an all too familiar voice.

Sandaime groaned at the interruption but it was to be expect, team 9 was expected to return from their first year of long term, deep cover mission. Unfortunately they just had to arrive when his book was getting good.

"Welcome home," said Sandaime, "I trust things went well?"

"Fine," said all three at the same time with the same grin that told him blatantly that things didn't.

"Anko, I expect you to show them how to write up a mission report and have all three of your reports turned in to me in four days," said the old man lighting his pipe again. He'd forgotten to relight it while he was reading as he was so engrossed.

"Why do I have to do that?" demanded Anko, "Shouldn't they have learned that in the Academy?"

"You have a very good point," said Sarutobi with a slight smirk.

"You're damn right I have a good point," said Anko before recognizing the look on his face.

"Seeing as you've made such a point of this, you can handle teaching it to all of the academy students who are in their final year," said Sarutobi with a smile.

"Hell no, I just spent a year teaching all manner of spoiled rotten brats and I'm not going to do it again," said Anko knowing that she had already lost but resisting all the same.

"You will do it and you will take those two with you," said Sarutobi, "Think of it as a way to scout out your third member before he or she graduates."

"Oh hell no," said Anko, "Two brats is enough, I will not be taking a third brat, just not happening."

"You will do it Anko and you will not complain about it, is that clear," said Sarutobi finally having enough of the game they usually played.

Anko suddenly stiffened and stood at attention knowing that her argument was over, "Yes Hokage-sama." She had to push down the slight bit of pride she felt when she noticed that neither Naruto nor Harry left her side and even stood at attention as soon as she did. They were quite the pair, no doubt about it.

"Report at 07:30 hours to Umino Iruka," said Sarutobi, "He will assist you in preparing for your class. Dismissed."

Anko, Harry, and Naruto all bowed before vanishing silently.

"They seemed to have learned a lot," said Sarutobi stroking his chin with a slight grin.

Anko and her brats . . . err . . . subordinates reappeared outside the office building without notice.

"Rotten old man," said Anko.

"How can he expect us to go back to the academy?" asked Harry.

"We worked our asses off to get out of their," pouted Naruto.

"This just sucks," complained Anko.

"It was bad enough we had to graduate with that stiff ass prick Neji," complained Naruto.

"But now we have to deal with Sasuke and he's even more of a stuck up prick," added Harry for good measure.

"I wonder if the old man would notice if I poisoned all of them?" Anko thought out loud.

"That could work," said Naruto thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but I think the old man would notice when all of this year's students died," said Harry sadly destroying that option.

"Damn," said Anko unhappy, "I guess we'll just have to do it and get it over with. And like he said, it will give you two a chance to scout for a third team member."

"Just what is going to happen to this team member then when we have to, and we will have to, go back to Hogwarts?" asked Harry pointedly.

"How the hell should I know?" asked Anko, "He or she will probably have to come with us."

"What?" yelled Naruto and Harry loudly. They knew that just wasn't safe, it wasn't smart either. It risked exposing their world to the wizards and that was something strictly forbidden.

"I know," said Anko answering their looks, "We'll just have to be very careful about who we choose. I got the impression that we've been given the freedom to choose anyone we want. So if we are careful, we should be fine."

"Shit," said Naruto and Harry unhappily.

"Go home, get some sleep and report to the academy as instructed," ordered Anko with a sigh before leaving the pair to themselves.

"Ramen?" asked Naruto with a grin.

"Of course," said Harry leaping up to the first roof top and racing along the familiar haunts of their home.

They arrived in record time to the 'oh so familiar' shop that brought them so many hours of joy. They nearly dropped dead upon arrival for out front was a sign that stated 'Going Out of Business, Final Day'

"No," screamed Naruto and Harry before rushing inside.

"Say it ain't so Ramen Man," said Naruto.

"It just can't be true," said Harry pleadingly, "You just can't give up."

The old Ramen cook behind the counter had to rub his eyes. He never would have believed that they would ever come back. "Ayame!"

"Yes father," she answered smiling hopefully at the pair.

"Take that damn sign down, we're saved," said the old man with a grin and tear in his eye.

Ayame gave the pair a quick hug before rushing out to remove the sign. Their business was saved.

"That's more like now start serving the ramen and don't be stingy," said Naruto with a lustful glare at the food just waiting to be eaten. Naruto and Harry closed the place that night eating nearly seventy bowls of ramen between them. Seeing as they hadn't spent any money in the last year they had saved quite a bit up. The old man had never been happier.

"Just remember," Harry warned the old man, "We'll only be back for a few months so be sure to save what we spend and use it slowly over the next year until we come back again."

The old man just nodded before he began to prepare ingredients for the next day.

Naruto and Harry slept very contentedly that evening.

They woke up as usual and did the regular morning exercise routine though not before increasing the number of weight tags they were each wearing. They followed it up with a moving spar as they made their way to the academy building.

"Owe, you're getting pretty good with that Hebi-do shit," complained Naruto as he rubbed his slightly numb shoulder from a well place hit by Harry.

"Yeah, well, just shut up," said Harry rubbing his now thoroughly bruised ribs, "I can't believe you were always holding back on me before."

"Well, it wouldn't have been fair for me to use Shunshin before when you couldn't," said Naruto.

"That still doesn't explain why your hits are harder," said Harry unhappily as they approached the familiar door.

"Okay, so maybe I held back a little bit but I can't do it anymore, now can I?" Naruto pointed out before opening the door to the classroom, "Your hits do more damage than they used to."

"Oh stop your whining before Anko-sensei hears," said Harry walking into the class only to take evasive action to dodge and or block a barrage of shuriken or kunai. At least Naruto's reception was equally pleasant. It seemed that Anko-sensei decided they were late. As such she distributed weapons to the students and told them to thrown them on her mark. Her 'mark' happened to coincide with the arrival of Naruto and Harry.

When the barrage finally ended Naruto and Harry didn't look very happy. Naruto looked down right pissed off, "Damn you."

"Shut up Kazama and sit your ass down before I glue to you the ceiling again," said Anko irritably, "Same goes for you Potter."

Naruto and Harry both mumbled some explicative that they knew they would pay for later but for now it just felt good to release a little of the tension.

"Naruto," said Harry, "You've got a shuriken stuck in your arm."

Naruto checked both of his arms before seeing the offending star sticking out the back of his arm. It wasn't deep at all and just barely penetrated the chain mesh armor but it did cut his clothes and that was a big 'no no'.

"Anko-Sensei, you're replacing this shirt damn it," said Naruto showing her the hold and slight blood stain.

"Shut up Naruto before I decide to just incinerate all you clothes right now," she replied with a look that said she'd do it.

"Naruto?" questioned one of the students, "You mean Uzumaki Naruto? I heard of him. I thought you died man."

"It's actually Kazama Naruto, and no, I didn't die, I was on a long term mission with my team thank you very much," replied Naruto.

"You changed you name?" asked another student arrogantly, "What's wrong? Your parents name not good enough for you?"

Naruto didn't take to that very well at all as could be seen when there was a yellow flash and Naruto suddenly appeared behind the arrogant student with a kunai to his throat, "I will warn you only once, don't piss me off."

"Naruto, sit your ass back in your seat," said Anko with a slight grin.

There was a suddenly flash of yellow light and Naruto was back in his seat with a bit of a smile at the stunned faces of the students, even some of envy, and one particularly satisfying look of absolute hatred.

"Now then, anyone else want to piss off my team," said Anko, "Because if you haven't noticed, they both already have their forehead protects while all of you don't. The status of Naruto's clan name is none of your damn business, so unless you want me to kill you myself just try and test my patience.

"Now, I'm not here because I want to be. I'm here because I was ordered to cover the lessons on filing mission reports. I'm also here because one of you very luck bastards will get the chance to fill the open spot on my team. Now before we get started, any questions that won't get you killed?"

"What happened to the person that used to be in your team?" asked a pink haired girl nervously while stealing glances to see is the boy next to her was even looking her way.

"Never was one," answered Anko succinctly eliminating her from the list, she'd no doubt crack under the pressure.

"So why add another member now?" asked a loud brash boy with a dog on his head.

"Orders are orders," said Anko instantly crossing him off the list, "Any thing else?"

"Why are you wasting our time with this useless crap?" asked the arrogant boy next to the pink haired girl.

Anko narrowed her eyes at the boy, "Mission reports are vital to the survival of the village. They are the soul judge for determining the rank and cost of future mission of similar background or location." Then she smiled, "Here is a situation. There is a C rank mission that was completely successfully and the Chuunin that filed the report skimped on the details. He didn't include the fact that he had to avoid several Stone Shinobi patrols to deliver a package to a village near the border. Now imagine that we send another team on a mission of equal rank to the same place only a few days later. That new Chuunin doesn't know to be careful of ambush or the possibility of crossing their path. So now, we have a mission that would have been better suited to two or three Chuunin, maybe even a Jounin being completed by one, single, solitary Chuunin. That Chuunin may have just died because of a bad mission report that was used to determine the needs of a similar mission."

The boy just snorted, "Any Chuunin stupid enough to get caught deserves to die."

"What's your name brat?" asked Anko with a slight smirk.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he answered coolly.

"Well, I must say, you are more like your father than I thought," said Anko causing the boy to smile, "He too was a great fool and his arrogance brought down the wrath of your brother and got his entire clan, save you, killed."

Sasuke leapt from his seat intent on killing her only to find himself pinned to the wall by Naruto and Harry both with and intense amount of pain shooting through his chest and shoulders.

"Don't even think of messing with our sensei," hissed Harry at the arrogant boy. It would seem that in the year they had been gone Sasuke had become even more arrogant.

"Nice hit Harry," said Naruto with a grin to his cousin despite the fact that he was still pinning Sasuke to the wall.

Harry looked at Naruto and smiled, "I missed the right point by an inch though."

"You'll get it next time," said Naruto before he looked to the smirking Anko, "What do you want us to do with him?"

"Let him go," she said turning her back to the boy.

Naruto and Harry let Sasuke drop to the floor and cradle his chest in pain.

"The numbness should wear off in a few hours," said Harry, "Maybe next time you won't let your arrogance cloud your judgment."

The entire class was stunned. The boy who would without a doubt become rookie of the year was just taken out in less than a few seconds.

"Uchiha Sasuke," said Anko coldly, "For now you are just like your father, too blinded by ambition to ever succeed. Do you know why your brother became such a powerful shinobi? Do you want to know his secrets? Well I'll tell you, and I hope you take this to heart. He became great because he was willing to acknowledge his weaknesses. You should learn to do the same."

"I'm not weak," coughed Sasuke as he forced himself to stand.

"Yes you are," said Anko, "I've seen many shinobi the same as you, prodigies but the truth is they nothing but wet blankets. Mentally weak and too stubborn to realize it. Now sit your ass back in your seat."

Sasuke looked deflated but instead of sitting in his seat he chose to leave the class entirely among the whispers of the other students. As soon as the door closed Anko took him off of her list of possible candidates.

With him gone Anko continued on with her lecture on mission logs and reports. Most of the students were too afraid not to pay attention. All in all it was a pretty informative lesson despite the occasion kunai or shuriken thrown at a random student to test their reflexes. Only three had the wherewithal to pay attention to her instead of furiously writing notes. Consequently, they were the only three to dodge or block the thrown weapon, the rest were rewarded with a cut on the check and a scowl.

The three that dodged were Kiba because he never bothered to take notes anyway. Shikamaru and Hinata but she was more staring at Naruto that listening to the lecture.

"Alright brats get out of my face, see you tomorrow," said Anko sitting up on the desk.

"But sensei," said the pink haired girl a bit strongly, "Its only noon."

"That's the great thing about being a guest teacher, I can end class whenever I want, now get out," she yelled at the end causing the students to scatter.

Naruto and Harry stayed behind as ordered and waited until Anko was ready to talk.

Anko meanwhile had produce a bottle of sake and another bottle of fire whiskey. She mixed a shot of each together before downing it quickly, "Hoowee, if nothing else them wizards can brew a fine drink."

"You gonna share or what?" asked Naruto curious about the stuff.

"Hell no, this is a rare commodity here and it's all mine," said Anko hugging the bottle of Fire Whiskey protectively.

"Anyway," said Harry prompting her to start.

"Well, if I had to choose today, it would be either that lazy brat Shikamaru or the shy girl Hinata," said Anko, "But that is just from one damn day."

"Yeah, but he might be too lazy," said Harry.

"Yeah, besides, he looks like he only stayed awake today so he didn't get cut. I doubt he'd want to spend most of his year with stuck up prep school brats," said Naruto with a chuckle.

"Hey, you are one of those stuck up prep school brats or did you forget Kazama-sama," said Anko teasingly. She knew his history now and loved to tease him for being the Hokage's son.

"Hinata would probably keep her mouth shut pretty good," said Harry, "I don't think we'd have to worry about her revealing too much about our world."

"Yeah, but what about those eyes?" said Naruto.

"Birth defect," volunteered Anko, "It would work I suppose."

"She has purple hair," said Naruto.

"Another birth defect," volunteered Anko again before downing another mixed shot.

"What was she even doing here? I thought she graduated last year with us," said Naruto to Harry.

"She passed the graduation exam for the academy but failed her Jounin sensei's test. She ended up with Kakashi and he has to date, never passed a group of Genin. Not to mention that the Uchiha brat has been hand picked to be his first student regardless of his decision to pass a group of Genin. She only took the test in the first place because her father made her take it," explained Anko before she hiccoughed once.

"How the hell do you know?" asked Naruto.

"I had to read the student profiles last night," said Anko.

"Liar," said Harry.

"Okay, so the Hokage made me read the ten most promising profiles," said Anko before she took another shot.

"Fine, well, we'll see what happens the rest of this week," said Naruto before leaving.

"What's bugging him?" asked Anko.

"I don't know but I intend to find out," said Harry with a snicker before running off to tease his cousin about it.

Harry found Naruto up top of the Hokage's monument meditating.

"So what's up?" asked Harry joining him not receiving an answer, "Fine, talk to me when you're ready." Harry then folded his leg up into the lotus position and calmed his mind wiping away all the excess crap that was bothering him.

Harry and Naruto sat there for hours organizing their minds and processing the recent changes they had been made to deal with. Things were much different in the village than Hogwarts. In Hogwarts, people spoke in hushed whispers when they saw Naruto and Harry because of Harry's legend and past but always with admiration or respect . . . most of the time. In Konoha, people did the same thing but more to ridicule and insult Naruto without breaking the third's law. Even still, they were happy to be home again.

Naruto finally let out a relaxed sigh signaling to Harry that he was ready to speak.

"So what's the deal? Don't like Hinata . . . or maybe you do?" asked Harry with a wink and a nudge to his cousin's ribs.

"No," said Naruto giving Harry a look that plainly said he had no interest in girls yet, "I like Hinata just fine but I don't like any of those people to become our teammates. They are all weak and will put both of us and the entire shinobi world at risk if they have to come with us. You've seen Dumbledore's attitude about the way we do things. What do you think he'd do with another of us there? The more of us that venture into that world, the greater the risk of one of us exposing the threat Shinobi pose to them. Next thing you know, we'll be in a war greater than the last Great Shinobi War, and it will be village against village against wizards."

"Naruto, it can't be helped," said Harry, "It isn't our decision. At least we have a chance to select someone who isn't as likely to expose our world. And if we are lucky, we can choose someone with enough skill and ability to keep us out of trouble if Anko-sensei ever gets too far out of line." He said the last part with a light laugh that got Naruto to laugh a bit.

"Yeah, I guess she is a bit of a handful for just the two of us," said Naruto with his own chuckle.

"So, let's just observe the students and see who we think would do the job well," said Harry acting the more mature part. He agreed with most of Naruto's doubts about the decision to add another member to their team but then again, it could be a good thing.

"Fine, but don't say later that I didn't warn you that this will be a colossal mistake," said Naruto before standing and stretching his stiff muscles, "Come on, let's get some ramen and head home to get started on our mission reports."

**BREAK**

Team 9 attended the academy three more days with Anko giving the students example situations and making them write up mission reports, sometimes in teams, sometimes alone.

Not much had change with Anko's opinion of who their third team member should be. It was either going to be Shikamaru or Hinata. Shikamaru had proven himself to be made of tougher stuff mentally then Hinata but he was still lazy as hell and not a very capable fighter. Hinata was the more capable of the two but much weaker mentally, she was easily frightened and scared and definitely shy.

"Alright you brats, get the hell out of my sight, Naruto, Harry, we'll meet up later as planned," yelled Anko before she narrowed her eyes, "Hyuga Hinata and Nara Shikamaru, you two stay."

"So troublesome," mumbled Shikamaru before lazily sitting down again.

Hinata jumped in surprise a bit before reseating herself fidgeting nervously.

Once the room was empty Anko began, "So, Shikamaru, you always this damn lazy?"

"It's too troublesome otherwise," said Shikamaru with a yawn only to dodge quickly to avoid a thrown kunai.

Anko smiled, "Do you ever train?"

"Only when my mom makes me, troublesome woman," complained Shikamaru not liking where this was going.

"And what about when you get put onto a team of Genin? What then?" asked Anko.

"I only plan to make it to Chuunin, marry a regular woman that isn't too troublesome and have two kids before I retire to a life of playing Shogi on my front porch until I die," said Shikamaru rather rehearsed with a yawn.

That seemed to pacify Anko for the moment before she turned on Hinata, "What's your story little girl?"

"Ano . . ." said Hinata tapping her index fingers together nervously, "I . . . I . . ."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" yelled Anko at the girl, "Speak up and clearly or I'll just kill you now and be done with it."

Hinata's eyes widened knowing there was doubt that Anko would do exactly that, "What do you want to know?" she said without the slightest stutter.

"Better," said Anko, "Now what the hell are you always so shy girly?"

"I am a disgrace to my clan. My father says I should hide in shame," said Hinata still terrified that this woman would end her life. Some deep part of her wanted Anko-sensei to do just that but then she remembered Naruto, her inspiration.

"Bah, your father's an asshole," said Anko plainly, "I've dealt with him plenty of times to know that. Anything that comes out of his mouth is worth shit to me and it should be the same for you. Or are you too stupid to realize that?"

Hinata shied away at that comment.

"Hey, don't you look away from me, you look me in the eyes now or I will kill you," yelled Anko threateningly.

Hinata immediately looked her in the eyes terrified of what she'd see.

"Now answer me, are you stupid?"

"Father says . . ." but she was cut off immediately.

"I don't give a flying fuck what your bastard father has to say. I asked if you were stupid."

"No," she answered hesitantly only to find a kunai held against her throat.

"Are you stupid?" hissed Anko in the girl's ear.

"No," she said a bit more forcefully, only her fear of death prompting her to speak up.

"Good answer," said Anko, "I'll come back to you in a minute." She then walked over to Shikamaru and decked him knocking him clean out of his seat and through a few of the desk chairs. "Get up you whiny little bitch," she said as she kicked him in the ribs knocking the wind out of him, "I said get up."

Shikamaru stood up shakily. He'd never calculated the possibility that she would actually strike him. It just didn't make sense for any teacher or instructor to beat the tar out of a student, not even a Genin.

"Fight me you little pussy of a man," said Anko tauntingly before she moved to strike him again. He blocked this time but the punch still got through and knocked him back into the wall. "Come on, is this all you got. I thought you were smart." She then sent another kick at him which he moved to dodge only to get a kunai in the shoulder.

Suddenly at the sight of his own blood it became all too real. She intended to kill him if he didn't start to really defend himself. This was the meaning of life as a shinobi and it was suddenly all too real.

Anko moved to stab his other arm and make him immobile but found her kunai blocked by another. Shikamaru had actually pulled the kunai from his own shoulder to block her. "So, you're not entire useless," she said with smirk before she brought her knee up swiftly only to be knocked aside by his own knee before his own foot came up to attack her.

Shikamaru didn't smirk at her surprise because he knew if he didn't fight he would die. Suddenly he was regretting not taking his mother's prodding to train more seriously. He thought he could get her to back off a bit if he kicked her. His leg moved cleanly though a bit slowly. She didn't do anything but smile. Suddenly she grabbed his arm that was straining to hold back her kunai with her free arm before drove the kunai she was holding straight down into his leg effectively ending the fight.

Shikamaru crumpled to the floor in pain but still tried to back away holding the kunai in a defensive position.

"It seems there is a bit of fight in you after all, good, you'll need that if I take you into my team," said Anko with a smirk before sheathing her kunai.

"A test," Shikamaru gasped slightly but more than a little pissed off, "You've stabbed me twice and it was just a test."

"Life is a test brat, besides, I missed any major arteries, you'll be healed fast enough once the medics get through with you," said Anko before she turned her attention to Hinata who was looking horrified.

"Shikamaru is down, can't defend himself, finish him," she instructed the terrified Hyuga girl, "Go on, close a few of his tenketsu around the heart. Do it or I'll kill you."

Hinata was scared to death but not more so that Shikamaru was. He'd passed his side of the test and now he was being offered up as a sacrifice to see if Hinata had any potential.

Hinata swallowed before she approached Shikamaru with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry Shikamaru."

"Don't apologize to him, it's his fault for being so weak and not being able to defend himself. You've known him for years, you know that he would be a risk to any team if can't defend himself properly. You'd be doing the village a favor by killing him. I'll even make it easier for you," said Anko before she made a few hand seals causing snakes to shoot out of her sleeves and wrap Shikamaru up holding him in place.

Hinata approached Shikamaru slowly and painfully, she didn't want to do this. She had known Shikamaru for a long time. She started making the seals to activate her Byakugan to see the tenketsu. She wouldn't miss, she didn't want him to suffer.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable end of his short life. But it never came. He opened his eyes to see that Hinata's hand was stopped just centimeters from his chest. He hand held in place by Anko who looked sorely disappointed.

"You've failed Hyuga," said Anko pushing her arm down, "Again." It was salt in an open wound but she needed to say it. "Any Konoha Shinobi would know, that we never turn on our own. We protect each other with our lives. You should have attacked me for ordering to you to do that. You have great potential Hyuga, don't ever forget that, you wouldn't be here if you didn't have potential. But always remember, now and forever, that a leaf is only one part of a tree, only together can we help the tree of Konoha grow."

Hinata let the tears slip down her cheeks for her failure to see the truth, to see underneath the underneath. But she also focused on the fact that Anko-sensei said that she had great potential. She made a vow to herself in that moment that she would never again forget where the tree of Konoha gets its life from.

"Now, wipe those tears away, you are far stronger than that," said Anko in an almost motherly way handing the girl a few tissues.

Hinata took the tissues gratefully and wiped her face clean.

"Grow stronger Hinata and I promise you he will notice you," said Anko with a wink to the girl who turned cherry red. "Now, for you Nara, congrats," Anko said slapping his shoulder that she happened have stabbed earlier, "Let's get you cleaned up and get a Hitai Ate on your head and go meet up with your new team."

"So troublesome," said Shikamaru before following his psychotic sensei to the hospital limping all the way.

The medics cleaned him up but not without harassing Anko for her testing methods. Not much later Anko took him to the Hokage's tower, got him registered with Team 9, and informed the Hokage.

"Was stabbing him really necessary Anko?" asked the Hokage as soon as they entered the room.

"Yes," said Anko honestly, "Now he knows and will be better motivated to see to it that it never happens again."

The Hokage just shook his head, "Have a seat with your subordinates." He motioned to the waiting Naruto and Harry.

"Yo," said Naruto and Harry with a slight wave to the genius.

"She's crazy," said Shikamaru before he sat with his new teammates.

"You have no idea," said Naruto, "Or did you forget that she had the entire class throw kunai and shuriken at Harry and me on the first day were there."

"Or that she would purposely throw weapons at students during lecture to make sure they were paying attention," added Harry with a grin.

"How are you two still alive?" asked Shikamaru in slight awe of the pair.

"You will learn really fast or you'll end up hurt," said Naruto dead seriously.

"She won't hold back much, so you'd better be ready to train," said Harry with a slight shudder at the memory of their last year of training.

"Well now Nara-san," said the Hokage, "I hope that test didn't bother you too badly?"

"I'll have nightmares for weeks," answered Shikamaru lazily.

"That's good," said Sandaime not really paying attention to his answer, "Now, on to the more important thing." Sarutobi then explained all the details of the mission that he would be joining as a first year student at Hogwarts. "So, the question is, can you handle this?"

Shikamaru was left in stunned silence. These kind of long terms deep cover missions were never given to Genin. It was almost a guaranteed rank promotion upon completion. It was almost a guaranteed ticket to his dream. But then again, the risks were also high.

"It will be at least six years of your life and there will be times of considerable danger. However, you are being given an opportunity that no shinobi has ever been afforded before. You will have an enormous amount of time to train and learn, Naruto and Harry have told me that Hogwarts can be quite enjoyable at times as well. And . . ." he paused to smile deviously, "You won't have to listen to you mother complain for the majority of the year." That sealed it right there.

"I'm in," he said without a second thought with just that one incentive.

"You will return here each summer to report and to be evaluated on your progress as a shinobi. It will also give you the chance to visit with friends and family as well as complete some missions to earn some pocket money and the like. Any other questions will be answered by Naruto and Harry. You leave in two months. I suggest you spend that time getting to know your teammates and working to catch up to their progress. Dismissed," the old man finished with a smile, "Oh and Anko, before I forget, escort Nara-san home and give his parents the good news."

"Damn you old man," complained Anko before she grabbed Shikamaru's still tender but healed shoulder and vanished.

"You two watch out for Shikamaru and make sure he catches up to you two," said Sandaime catching Naruto and Harry just before they were out the door.

Sarutobi couldn't help but smile at the thought of how much fun it would be to be able to watch Albus' reaction to the coming years.

**BREAK**

Anko and Shikamaru were both grumbling as they approached his home. Anko pounded roughly on the door.

Shikamaru's mother answered the door. She saw Anko and got a slightly fearful look in her eyes before she notice that she holding onto her son's shoulder and looked rather annoyed. "Oh Mitarashi-san, I'm so sorry. I don't know what you did Shikamaru but don't ever plan on being able to watch clouds again. You'd better apologize now and be polite about it," Shikamaru's mother continued to rant for a while before Anko finally just covered her mouth.

"That brat ain't in trouble," said Anko causing Shikamaru's mother to look confused.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand then," she said to point out the obvious.

Finally Shikato came to the door, "What's all this racket? Something wrong Anko?"

"Depends on your definition of wrong," said Anko, "Being made Jounin instructor and being expected to baby-sit three brats would definitely fit in my description."

"Why don't we talk about his inside?" offered Shikamaru's mother noticing all the people staring now.

"Fine," said Anko walking in but not before shoving Shikamaru ahead of her.

"Would you like some tea?" Shikato offered motioning to his wife to make some.

"Sure," said Anko sitting the table and putting her feet up on it rudely.

Shikato was used to Anko's personality so shrugged and took his own seat to wait for the explanation. After the tea was served and everyone was seated including an annoy Shikamaru, Shikato opened the conversation.

"I didn't know you'd taken on a team of Genin," said Shikato, "Last I heard you were on some long term deep cover deal."

"Yeah, well, it's not done yet," said Anko with a frown, "Part of it though involves _my_ Genin team. Up until now it has only been two Genin and myself."

"Up until now?" asked Shikato slightly fearful for his son.

"Shikamaru was selected to fill the open spot," said Anko still annoyed with the situation.

"But Shikamaru is still in the Academy," protested Shikamaru's mother.

"Not anymore, he was given an early graduation examination and placed on my team," said Anko, "So now he will be joining my team and I when we resume our deep cover work in two months. Hokage-sama says this is a real honor for Shikamaru and a fast track to making Jounin."

Shikamaru's mother looked torn between the opportunities that Shikamaru was being given and the idea of her son being the student of Anko who was once the student of Orochimaru. In the end, the opportunity won out. "Congratulations Shikamaru-kun, now don't waste this opportunity by watching clouds the entire time."

"Where exactly is this deep cover mission that Genin are allowed to participate?" asked Shikato curiously.

"Classified," said Anko, "You know the rules same as all the other Jounin Shikato."

Shikato sighed in defeat, "Will he be able to continue training?"

"That will be about the only thing he will be doing. He's got a long way to go if he ever expects to catch up to his teammates," said Anko.

"And who are his teammates?" asked Shikamaru's mother.

Anko cringed slightly, she knew this part wasn't going to go very well at all.

Shikamaru though answered before she could, "Naruto and Harry."

"What?" screamed Shikamaru's mother, "I absolutely refuse to allow my son to be on a team with that . . . that . . . thing."

The room suddenly got much colder, "That _thing_, as you put it, is more than you seem to think he is."

"Of course he is more than he appears, he's a . . ." but her words stopped short noticing the presence of her now very interested son.

"Dear, I think you'd best sit down now, you're in for a very big surprise," said Shikato knowing full well what she was about to learn. He only knew the secret because of his position and even then he couldn't even share it with the people who did know.

"I will not sit down and just allow my only son to be subjected to that . . ." once again she stopped short only to be forcefully sat in her chair by Shikato much to her great consternation.

"About a year ago, Naruto was finally told his family name," said Anko, "just before he began this deep cover mission. It was kept secret up until then to protect him from forces outside the village that would seek retribution against his clan for the actions of his father. But in doing so, it totally alienated him from this village because of his burden. Do you have any idea who his father is?"

Shikamaru's mother shook her head angrily, "It doesn't matter. He's not . . . he's evil now."

"His family name is Kazama," said Anko before completely silencing herself to let that sink in.

Shikamaru's mother gasped and brought her hand to her mouth in horror. It shouldn't have been possible. It just wasn't right. She shook her head again trying to forget what she had just heard.

"Do you honestly think he would use his only son, minutes after his wife died in child birth, if there was even the slightest chance that _it_ would corrupt the boy? Have you so little faith?" asked Anko coolly.

"Why weren't we ever told? Why did no one say anything?" she asked in horror as she thought back on the horrible way that boy had been treated, even by her.

"Think of his father's reputation," said Shikato, "He was in more danger from other villages than he was from the hatred he received here. At least here there were some who would protect him that knew the truth."

"You knew?" she asked.

"I knew because I was there," said Shikato.

"Okay, I realize that I'm just some kid here to you but could someone tell me what hell difference does it make if Naruto's family name is Kazama?" Shikamaru finally asked in annoyance.

"The Kazama Clan is the same clan that Yondaime Hokage was from," said his mother, "That means that Naruto is . . . was . . ."

"Yondaime's son," said Shikamaru in a moment of clarity and shock.


	9. Chapter 9

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"Right you brats, shut up," said Anko as she approached her now complete and waiting team of Genin, "Today we're going to spend a bit of time with teamwork exercises but first we're going to push Shikamaru here to the brink of exhaustion to catch him up to the both of you as fast as possible." Anko then tossed a bag at Shikamaru, "Put that light body armor on and then start sticking tags on." She then smiled gleefully, it was a bit beyond excessive but it did the trick and then some.

"This is so troublesome," complained Shikamaru as he shed his shirt put on the light chain mesh body armor. He then started putting on the little notes of paper.

"Make sure they stay out of sight now," added Anko with a pleased smirk.

Once Shikamaru had added about fifteen tags Anko stopped him, "The rest are for Harry and Naruto, can't let you boys slack off now can we?"

Naruto and Harry sighed before they started adding the remained tags to their already numerous tags.

Anko made a few quick hand seals to activate all of the seals at once. Shikamaru dropped straight to the ground with a painful whiff of air leaving his lungs rapidly.

"Get your ass up Shikamaru or I'll castrate you," said Anko with a demonic and yet gleeful grin at the prospect of making her own eunuch.

Shikamaru struggled first to his knees panting heavily thinking his body would give out at any moment.

"Yo," said Naruto offering his hand to help Shikamaru up.

Shikamaru looked up in surprise at Naruto. He now knew Naruto and Harry's full story. He thought that under the same conditions he would have become that which the village feared, but one look into the eyes of either of them and he knew that simply wasn't so. They wanted to prove themselves and help the friends, he suddenly felt very lucky to be counted among the friend group.

Shikamaru took the hand offered to him and struggled to stand even with Naruto helping a bit.

"Thanks," said Shikamaru finally standing bent over holding himself up with his hands on his knees.

"Use your chakra," said Harry with a smile, "It takes a bit to get used to and you'll drain your chakra fast but at least you'll be able to move."

"Yeah, and you'll get used to it eventually," added Naruto with a smile. He may have worried greatly under the surface about the risk of adding Shikamaru to the team but he'd be damned if he didn't at least try.

Shikamaru appreciated the help and tried to use his chakra to help him move, "It's damn hard, how the hell can you two stay standing?"

"We've been doing this since the academy days," said Naruto, "Just stick with it and you'll build up an enormous amount of chakra and strength."

"He acts tough," said Harry punching Naruto in the arm, "But he's probably struggling more than you are."

"Shut up, I am not," yelled Naruto angrily.

That seemed to relax the atmosphere a bit because Shikamaru chuckled.

"Alright you brats," said Anko, "Take the little weenie here and run him through the warm up and the basic drills."

"Die biatch," yelled Naruto at Anko as he way of saying 'Yes ma'am'.

Soon enough the three Genin were stretching and loosening up their bodies followed closely by push-ups, sit-up, handstand push-up, and pull-ups.

"Good, now that we're all warmed up, start running," said Anko brandishing two hands of Senbon.

Naruto and Harry's eyes both widened with fear. Together they grabbed Shikamaru roughly and took of at a fast sprint changing directions regularly with Anko right on the tails violently throwing her poisoned needles the hopes of getting her brats.

"What's with the needles?" asked Shikamaru as he dodged yet another one.

"Nerve agent," said Naruto before he yelped. She got him.

"It'll just slow you down," said Harry, "Makes you an easier target." Harry was moving quickly to dodge a particularly nasty barrage of Senbon.

"Psychotic woman," complained Shikamaru as he moved to dodge sluggishly. His chakra was starting to wane and his muscles were having trouble supporting the weight on their own.

They kept this up until all three boys were little better than pin cushions. All three stood as Anko counted the needles stuck in each boy, "Not bad, Harry wins with Naruto a close second. The only problem with that is if I had used a real poison you'd have died a long time ago. You're going to have to get a lot faster, and no Naruto, you cannot use your Shunshin. Now, get the hell out of my sight, report back here tomorrow."

Naruto and Harry both limped off nursing their various wounds and trying to work the nerve agent out of their muscles. Shikamaru though just fell back on the grass to watch the clouds above and breathe heavily wishing he could be one of those clouds.

"Enjoy your first day as Genin?" asked a familiar voice.

"Tousan, this is so troublesome," said Shikamaru tiredly. Shikamaru heard the sounds of someone lying down next to him in the grass.

"You're going to have to get stronger faster if you plan to make this work," said Shikato to son.

"Weight training is so troublesome, I can hardly move," said Shikamaru. His father was one of the few people that really understood him. "Is this really what it is like?"

"You've seen my scars, you've heard the stories," said Shikato, "I admit, I've always worried about you becoming a shinobi. You've never had much drive for it. I think Anko-san has shown you a world that you weren't prepared for. I hope you now know what you're getting yourself into."

"She stabbed me several times and threatened to kill me. I don't think anyone is ever ready for that," said Shikamaru.

"I was, so are most of the shinobi that come out of the Academy," said Shikato, "You've spent too much looking at the clouds and not enough time thinking about what it truly means to be a shinobi."

"I don't need the lecture Tousan," said Shikamaru, "Don't you think I've realized that? Don't you think I've realized exactly what will be expected of me?"

"I hope you have realized it by now," said Shikato, "So, are you ready to learn the true secrets of our families Hijutsu?"

"Yeah, I think I'm finally ready to go beyond Kagemane and Kage Kubishibari," said Shikamaru with a heavy sigh.

"Good," said Shikato, "We'll start in two weeks. That ought to give you a chance to get used to those weights." Shikato then stood and left his son to continue his reflection.

"So troublesome," Shikamaru said to himself now that he was alone. The only thing he needed to figure out now was how to stand up again.

**BREAK**

"Come on, concentrate Harry," said Shikamaru waiting for Harry to make his move on the Shogi board. He knew that Harry was going to lose but he hoped that he would last a bit longer this time. At Anko-sensei's instruction, Shikamaru had been taking time everyday to teach them both the game. It was a very daunting task for Shikamaru in addition to everything else he had to do.

Everyday, the team would train at sunrise. Then they would do a D rank mission. After that they would eat lunch followed closely by more training. After afternoon training, Shikamaru taught Harry and Naruto to play Shogi for an hour before he would go home to train with his father. Shikato had taken guard duty for the next two months until Shikamaru was scheduled to depart so as he would have enough time to train Shikamaru properly. Kage Aruku no Jutsu was damn difficult. Walking from one shadow to another was nearly impossible and used up such an ungodly amount of Chakra it hardly seemed worthwhile. But then again, if successful you could appear anywhere there was a shadow. It was truly an assassin's technique.

Meanwhile, Harry and Naruto were buried in text books completing their summer homework. Harry took to this much more easily than Naruto did but then again, Harry had a much more vested interest in it. He wanted to make his parents, who were a witch and wizard, proud of him. Naruto found himself more times than not annoyed with the wizards magic as most of it was useless nonsense to a ninja just as most ninja arts were useless to a wizard. However, he had to admit that he did appreciate the cleaning spells enormously.

Naruto would generally do the minimum requirements and then run off to work on his family scroll and delve further into his heritage. He'd recently become more and more interested in seals and sealing techniques. This led him to the library more often than not. If he was lucky, he'd find what he needed, read it, and return the book where it came from before the librarian noticed he was there. If he was unlucky, the librarian would spot him and chase him out with her broom stick of doom.

After Naruto left Harry to his own devices, Harry would find Anko to learn more of the Hebi-do and Hebi Jutsu. Harry was getting quite good with this by now and Anko couldn't have been prouder, not that she'd ever let him know.

"Hey brat," said Anko entering the apartment without a care for knocking, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, just let me finish this paragraph," said Harry dipping his quill in the well again and scratching a few more words on the piece of parchment. "There, all finished. So what have you got for me today Anko-Sensei?"

"You're going to love it," said Anko with a devious grin.

Harry followed Anko a safe distance from the village to practice so as not to raise more concerns from the villages.

"I think you're ready to learn Senei Jashuu," said Anko with a gleeful smile. It was such a useful technique, it was a real pity that more shinobi didn't use it. On the other hand, that could also be deemed a good thing as it often meant that the enemy wouldn't know the technique.

"Sweet," said Harry with a grin, "bring it on."

Anko and Harry spent the rest of the afternoon working on the technique and well into the evening. By the time they rested, Harry had successfully summoned one snake to shoot from his sleeve which then turned on him when it smelt fear from him. Anko got a good laugh out of it seeing him struggle with the python and trying to reason with it in the snake language. That was something Anko was very pleased to learn about Harry early in his training. He naturally spoke the snake language. It was a rare quality that didn't show up very often in shinobi. It was the very reason that she was chosen by Orochimaru to become his apprentice, but in the end, it wasn't such a good thing. Even still, she did learn a lot from the traitorous bastard. It felt good to her to be passing on the techniques to someone who would put them to good use in service of the village.

Naruto meanwhile, wasn't so fortunate. The librarian had called several ANBU to deal with him this time.

"What do you think you're doing?" demanded one of the ANBU with a Cat mask.

"Trying to learn, what the hell does it look like?" asked Naruto sarcastically. He was just plane pissed off with the situation. He wasn't bothering anyone, just trying to learn from books that it didn't look as though it had been touched in years and he was getting scolded for it.

"Don't take that tone with me boy. You should be well aware that this library is restricted to Shinobi only," said ANBU threateningly.

"What the hell does this look like?" he asked pointing to his forehead protector.

"I good forgery," said the ANBU crossing his arms.

"Damn it, fine, arrest me, take me to the Hokage," said Naruto giving up his struggle with the bigot. He'd just deal with the old man directly.

"Oh, we don't need to bother him with scum like you. I think Ibiki has been rather lonely lately without anyone to interrogate," said the ANBU, "Assuming you live long enough to meet him."

Naruto didn't like the sound of this at all. He suddenly found himself praying for a small miracle, someone just happened to be listening to his pleas.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, what seems to be the problem?" asked the kindly voice of the old man known better as Hokage-sama.

Naruto was presented with a unique opportunity. In the past he would have ousted the ANBU for his actions, today though, he knew that he'd have better luck putting the ANBU in his debt.

"Nothing going on old man, this ANBU was just helping explain something to me," said Naruto cutting off the ANBU.

"Well that's good," said Sarutobi before looked at the ANBU, "Please report to my office when your shift ends."

ANBU stood rigid and saluted before leaving.

"Now then," said Sarutobi smiling at Naruto, "What is your latest endeavor?"

"Sealing," said Naruto not entirely sure how the old man would react to it.

"Really now?" asked Sarutobi, "And why would you want to learn something as boring as sealing?"

"It's not that boring. I mean come on, you can do all kinds of cool stuff with seals," said Naruto before he launched into a long winded explanation of the pranks he could accomplish with the right seals and several other troublemaking plans. Everything he learned seemed to revolve around the next great prank or his path to becoming the next Hokage.

Sarutobi chuckled, "Well then, let's see if we can't find you a few books to help with that." Sarutobi looked through the stacks for a moment before he thought of something he had stashed back in his office. "You know, I think I have a few scrolls on the topic back in my office that may interest you."

"Really?" asked Naruto excitedly.

Not much later they were both in Sarutobi's personal library. Naruto stood patiently as he was able to while Sarutobi dug through several stacks of scrolls. Finally he re-emerged with three scrolls.

"Now, your father wasn't Hokage for very long, but in that time he managed to write a few scrolls. Several of which, deal specifically with sealing techniques. Now, within these three, there is one scroll for each level of skills from beginning to novice to intermediate. There are a few more scrolls but I think it would be best for you to start with these three. I'm sure they'll keep you plenty busy for now. I just ask that you take good care of them. After all, we don't have much of your father's works. They must be cared for and protected. I'm sure you understand."

"Of course I understand," said Naruto, "I'll take great care of them. I'll be sure to learn them perfectly too, just you wait. When I come back next year you'll be giving me the rest of those scrolls."

"I hope so Naruto," said Sarutobi knowing that he was placing the knowledge in good hands, "Now, you'd best head home and get to work."

"I'm already gone," said Naruto as he ran for home to get to work.

"Good luck my boy, you're starting down a very difficult path," said Sarutobi. There were very few shinobi who bothered to learn beyond the most basic of sealing techniques. Those that did easily became Jounin, and those that truly mastered the art became Sennin or Kage's. It was indeed a very difficult path and he hoped that Naruto would see it through to the end.

**BREAK**

Weeks seemed to blur together with the amount of work the team was always doing. They were always training or doing some menial D rank mission. Even Anko was getting board watching the brats chase the same damn cat six days a week.

It became quite annoying for the team to find Naruto using scrolls to create all kinds of havoc during sparring sessions. The more of sealing Naruto learned the more fun he had with it. Shikamaru and Harry quickly learned to work together to take Naruto out before he had a chance to cause too much havoc. He was simply too unpredictable to find any pattern or method to his use of various scrolls.

Harry though had grown even closer to the snake mistress Anko, almost like a brother-sister relationship. His Senei Jashuu now could compete with Anko's for speed and quantity but his chakra still couldn't keep up with her. Harry's Hebi-do was becoming down right vicious as his speed continued to increase with the accuracy of his hits. He wasn't very strong but he was so damn fast it didn't really matter. The only way Naruto could ever keep up with him now was by using Shunshin and that would drain away chakra fast.

Shikamaru made the biggest strides in his improvement though. Anko knew that his improvement was due to the fact that he had to push so hard to catch up to Naruto and Harry as she took every chance she got to compare his progress to theirs. It was cruel, but very effective, especially when she would put down Naruto and Harry's abilities rather harshly first. Shikamaru's improvement in his families Hijutsu was far beyond impressive. Once he'd grasped several layers of chakra control training that had been force upon him, he'd become great friends with shadows. They were his gateway to the world. He learned to become nothing but a shadow to hide in plain site and erase his presence entirely. He learned to turn his shadows into weapons that could pierce almost anything or knock away any weapon. He still had a long way to go but he was making beyond impressive strides in his abilities and strengths.

Anko was very pleased with her team. She never imagined that she would ever enjoy bossing around a bunch of brats but it really wasn't that bad. On the other hand, she had some rather unique brats. Naruto and Harry's attitudes were very much like hers and she knew exactly how to motivate herself and thus them. Shikamaru was a bit more difficult but he was still making great progress and responding well to her training methods, a few trips to the hospital for stab wounds and poisoning were extremely effective motivators.

"Well, I hope you've all had a very enjoyable break," said Sarutobi to the assembled team before him, "As you know, your mission will resume in a week's time. However, Professor Dumbledore felt it would be best for you to return a week early to obtain materials for the new term and to better prepare Shikamaru to begin his first year of lessons. He has made arrangement for you boys to stay with the Weasley family."

"Sweet, Ron is finally gonna lose at chess," said Harry with a big smile. Shikamaru would kick his ass.

"So troublesome," complained Shikamaru verbally but inside he was kind of excited to meet Ron and play a game against him. He'd heard so much about their friends at Hogwarts he felt as though he now knew them. He was very excited to say the least.

"Anyway," interrupted Sarutobi before the boys could get too excited, "You'll be leaving tomorrow. Hagrid will come with a portkey as usual and that will take you to the Weasley home. From there, Mrs. Weasley will be taking you to Diagon Alley. Anko, Hagrid will take you to Hogwarts to prepare for your term of classes."

"Damn," said Anko, "Do I really have to?"

"Yes Anko, you really have to," answered Sarutobi, "Unless you have any other questions you are dismissed until tomorrow, 08:00 hours."

"Hai!" the group responded before vanishing.

Sarutobi was happy to see such a strong team formed already. He hoped they would be ready for the Chuunin exams when they returned next year. It was Konoha's turn to host and he really hoped they would be ready for it.

As scheduled the group arrived. The only one that appeared to have any luggage was Shikamaru much to his dismay until the boys showed him their shrunken trunks. His only response was 'I have to get one of those'.

"Hello again boys," said Hagrid with a big booming voice, "Hope yer ready fer another excitin' year."

"Let's just get a move on Blackbeard," said Anko more than a little annoyed to have to deal with yet another of these stupid portkeys.

"Right then, everyone grab hold," said Hagrid offering them a teapot.

With the 'oh so familiar' jerk behind the navel the group of traveler vanished for yet one more year.

The group reappeared in a field facing a rather interesting home. Interesting was a nice way to put it. The house looked ready to completely fall over or cave in on itself. Shikamaru was quickly calculating the structural integrity of the building while Naruto and Harry were thinking about all the fun they could have.

"That building can't possibly stay standing," said Shikamaru finally.

"Oh course it can," said Hagrid, "Magic is holdin' it together jus' fine."

"Right," said Shikamaru. He heard that magic was much more versatile for everyday things but nearly useless in combat but to actually see it at work redefined his opinion of how useful or useless it could actually be.

"Well, just go on an' knock on the door there," said Hagrid, "Professor Anko and I have to be getting' on," said Hagrid.

"Anko-sensei," said Anko in a deadly hiss, "How many damn times do I have to remind you to call me Anko-sensei? I'm no god damn professor."

Hagrid was fearful so he just thrust the teapot upon Anko to get them out of there.

"She's downright scary," said Shikamaru.

"Sometimes," said Naruto thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but that's why we love her," said Harry with a grin that was soon matched by Naruto, even Shikamaru smirked a bit.

"Prank plan Alpha 3 Zeta 7?" asked Naruto with a grin.

"How about we try to make a good impression?" asked Shikamaru flatly walking ahead of Naruto and Harry towards the front door.

"He's no fun," said Naruto with a pout.

"Well, he does have a point," said Harry trying to look inconspicuous and failing miserably.

"Bull shit," said Naruto, "You just want to make a good impression for Ginny."

"I do not," protested Harry blushing furiously causing Naruto to laugh and run ahead of Harry who was chasing after him.

Very quickly the short walk toward the door turned into a moving sparing match.

Shikamaru was getting used to this and ignored them as he went and knock on the door.

The door was answered by a tall boy with glass and bright red hair and a look of annoyance on his face, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at the boy, "We're expected."

"We?" asked the boy looking around only to see Naruto and Harry fighting and laughing.

"Oh, you must be the new student that was coming with Mr. Kazama and Mr. Potter. Take my advice, once you reach Hogwarts, avoid those two as the not but troublemakers," said boy before turning and leaving Shikamaru standing in front of an open door.

"Mother, the guests have arrived," was yelled from somewhere inside the house.

Soon the sound of someone bustling about was coming to the door, "Oh hello," said a plump red head enveloping Shikamaru in a crushing hug, "You must be Shikamaru, where are Naruto and Harry?

Shikamaru was very surprised by the greeting but jutted his thumb over his shoulder to the still fighting Naruto and Harry.

"Now you boys stop rough housing and come over here, let get a good look at you," she said leaving no room for question.

Naruto and Harry stopped their fight and walked over to her but not without shoving each other playfully.

"Oh Harry, it's so nice to finally see you," said Molly hugging the poor boy fiercely.

"And you must Harry's cousin Naruto," said Molly giving the short boy an equally strong hug.

"I'm Molly Weasley," she finally introduced herself, "The boys are all out back playing a game of Quidditch, feel free to join them, lunch will be served in a bit." And just as suddenly as she arrived at the door she disappeared.

"Yes, Quidditch," shouted Harry. He'd been forbidden to ride his broom all summer long because it would raise too many questions within the village. Harry was then racing his way to the back of the house.

Naruto followed a bit slower with Shikamaru as neither of them had a broom.

When they got back there they could see Harry racing about in the air laughing with the others as he did several death defying tricks at near impossible speeds.

"Oh, I hope doesn't get hurt," said a worried voice.

Naruto looked to see Ron's little sister, "So, you're Ginny?"

The girl suddenly turned to notice the other two people, "Yes, that's me."

"Nice to meet you," said Naruto with a grin taking a seat next to her in the shade. Shikamaru also joined them but was more interested in watching the clouds than the Quidditch game.

"You're Harry's cousin right?" asked Ginny curious.

"Yep, I'm Naruto."

"Did Harry . . . I mean, did you and Harry have a fun summer?" asked Ginny.

"Damn girl, you've got it almost as bad as Harry does," said Naruto with a laugh.

"Got what?" asked Ginny without thinking.

"As the kids at school would say, you 'fancy' him," said Naruto, "And he, 'fancies' you."

"Don't tease me," she said cowering away from Naruto, "I get enough of that from my brothers."

"And why shouldn't I tease you too, I tease Harry all the time about it," said Naruto.

"You are a bad liar," she said getting upset.

"He ain't lying," said the lazy Shikamaru, "Harry has talked about almost nothing but finally getting to talk to you this summer."

"He did?" she asked surprised not wanting to believe.

"Yeah, and we've . . ." Shikamaru coughed interrupting Naruto, "I mean, I've been teasing him mercilessly about it. It's been quite entertaining, especially when Anko-sensei gets in on it."

"If I find out your lying, you'll be introduced first hand to my Bat Bogey Hex," said Ginny with a fierce look in her eyes.

"Roger that," said Naruto with a grin. He couldn't help but think that this girl might have a real future with Harry but then he shook that thought out of his head and started to plan new and embarrassing ways to tease the both of the now that in the same place. "So why aren't you playing?" asked Naruto with a friendly smile.

"Mum thinks that girls should play such rough sports," said Ginny with a defiant look in her eyes.

"I get the feeling that you don't agree," said Naruto with a grin.

"No, I sneak into the broom shed at night so I can practice," said Ginny with her own devious grin.

"Good for you," said Naruto with a smile.

"So troublesome," said Shikamaru with a yawn.

"Is he really that lazy?" asked Ginny curious of Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru is the laziest person in the history of the world . . . unless Anko-sensei around and then that quickly changes," said Naruto, "You'll have to look out for him this year at school. You know, keep him out of trouble so he can keep me and Harry out of trouble."

Ginny giggled at that, "I'll try."

"Glad to hear it," said Naruto who was now noticing the boys finally coming in to land.

"Yo, Naruto man," said Fred.

"What's up?" asked George.

"Ready for a new year of competition?" asked Fred.

"As if you guys even stand a chance," said Naruto, "Between Harry, Ron, Hermione, Shikamaru, Ginny, and myself you two are sunk."

"Don't count me in any of this," said Shikamaru shifting to get a better view of the clouds, "Too troublesome."

Ginny though seemed stunned that Naruto had automatically included her in the count.

"Hey, no adding more people to the team," said Fred.

"The rules never said we couldn't add more people, besides, you two brought in Lee Jordan for help," said Ron with a grin.

"Yeah but . . ." protested George.

"It isn't . . ." started Fred unable to come up with anything.

"Can I have a go now?" asked Naruto pointing to the twin's broom.

"Fine," said Fred holding out his broom which Naruto handed to Ginny before he took George's broom in hand and took off into the air.

"He didn't just . . ." stated Fred in shock as he watched Ginny take off followed closely by Ron and Harry.

"I think he just did," said George.

"We're going to have to be careful of them, they are getting too good," said Fred.

"Too troublesome," said Shikamaru with a sigh again. He just couldn't get any peace and quiet to do his cloud watching.

**BREAK**

"Ah, welcome back boys," said the weird old man known as Olivander as the crew all entered his shop.

"Yo, what's up old timer?" asked Naruto with a giant grin.

Olivander chuckled, "As fox-like as ever my boy."

"Naturally," said Naruto with an exaggerated bow causing the group to all laugh.

"So, how those specialty items working for you?" asked Olivander.

"Good," said Naruto.

"I'd like to trade mine," said Harry with a slight grimace as the looks he was suddenly receiving from Naruto.

"I beg your pardon," said Olivander in surprise.

"Well, it works, but it's just not the right one for me anymore," said Harry.

"Oh, and which do you believe best for you now?" asked Olivander truly intrigued by the young boy.

"The basilisk one," said Harry earning a gasp from his assembled friends. Harry ignored them though and removed his dragon hide glove and placed it back on the counter top.

Olivander though just smiled, "I had hoped you'd say that eventually, but I did not expect you figure it out so quickly. Impressive." Olivander then went into the back before he returned with another glove which he lovingly place on the countertop. "Do be careful as the poison they can release is quite potent."

Harry nodded once before he put the glove on causing his eyes to glow green for a moment brightening the shop with a green tint before fading back to their usual vibrant green. Olivander smiled brightly at the boy.

"Now, who's next?" asked Olivander observing the small crowd of students before he spotted Ginny, "Ah, another Weasley, the first female born to the line in nearly two thousand years. I think we can expect great things from you." Olivander was soon going through boxes of wands for Ginny. "I do so enjoy a challenge." Soon enough, Ginny received a wand with a phoenix tail feather from the only known female phoenix. It was quite a privilege for Ginny to be gift such a feather. "I think we can expect you to become a most powerful witch with such a wand.

"Go Ginny," said Harry finally working up the courage to talk to her even if it was something so simple. Ginny though blush profusely at the compliment from Harry as he did from giving it.

"Right then, anyone else?" asked Olivander with a twinkle in his eye.

"So troublesome," said Shikamaru raising one hand up.

"Well now, another one," said Olivander with a smile, "Let us see what we can do." Shikamaru tried out several wands before he finally got one. "Eight inches, rather firm, hair of a were-cat."

"Were-cat?" asked Shikamaru curiously.

"A most peculiar creature, it is a cat for most of the time but can change at will into the form of a human boy. Very lazy creatures but very, very intelligent."

"Yep, that's Shikamaru for you," said Naruto with a laugh that was echoed by the whole group.

"Now, get him a glove would you?" asked Harry with a smile knowing that Shikamaru was going to enjoy this.

"What are these gloves?" asked Ron finally voicing the question that everyone had.

Olivander smiled, "Well, wizards use wands to focus their magic. There are some wizards that don't necessarily need wands or any kind of focus. This is an extremely dangerous and difficult branch of magic. Years ago I designed several gloves to be used as focuses for wizards that studied this branch of magic. Mr. Kazama, Mr. Potter, and apparently Mr. . . "

"Nara," said Shikamaru helpfully.

"Yes, and Mr. Nara have had some training in this branch of magic," explained Mr. Olivander.

"Really, could you teach us?" asked Ron excitedly to Naruto and Harry.

"Ah but Mr. Weasley," interrupted Mr. Olivander, "You have grown far too old to ever learn such magic. Correct me if I am wrong but I do believe that these boys have been trained for this branch of magic since they were but very small children."

"Started at five," said Naruto.

"Six," said Harry and Shikamaru together.

"Whoa," said Ron in disbelief, "You've had to train in magic that long?"

"I have a destiny," said Harry with a fire in his eyes, "Dumbledore felt it was best to prepare me for it."

"I have a whole new level of respect for you now," said Ron with a slight whistle, "I mean, I know you said that you started training that young with the running and stuff but that is just too cool."

"You're not upset?" asked Naruto surprised.

"Yeah, like I would want to have been training since I was six years old," said Ron with a snort, "I'm barely motivated enough to do the running and stuff with your guys now."

Meanwhile Shikamaru tuned out the conversation seeing the issue was working itself out. He focused now on the gloves being presented to him but none of them felt quite right, "Got anything dealing with shadows or darkness?"

"I might," said Olivander with a smile before he vanished into the back and returned with one more box, "I've just finished this. I've not really had a chance to test it yet but I imagine that you'd be willing to test it." Olivander took out a glove that was pure black, it seemed as if it absorbed the light in the room. "Made from the hide of a Shadow Lizard. They live in extreme darkness, nearly impossible to catch as they seem to move as if part of the darkness themselves. Not overly powerful but very resistant and it promotes an average level of control."

"That will work," said Shikamaru lazily taking the glove and slipping it on smoothly. For an instant he was bathed in darkness before he returned to plain site.

"Now for you Mr. Weasley," said Olivander staring at Ron.

"What about me?" asked Ron.

"That wand was not meant for you," said Olivander.

"It was my brother Charlie's wand," said Ron protectively.

"I know, but it is not meant for you," said Olivander.

"It works for me so I don't need to replace it," said Ron. It wasn't that he didn't want a new wand, he just knew his parents couldn't afford it. They barely had enough money to buy Ginny a new wand and they only did that because there was no other wand that would work for her around the house.

"Go on Ron," said Harry, "We'll get it for you for your birthday, I owe you a present anyway."

"It's too much," said Ron.

"Not if it's from the both of us," said Naruto with his normal foxy grin.

"Fine," said Ron defeated and out of room to argue. Not much later Ron had a new wand with a heart string from a Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon. He was very please with this.

"Good luck young ones," said Olivander with a smile now that the business was finished and he was paid his rather large fee for the gloves and wands.

"Where next?" asked Harry not really caring. They had bought their robes, stocked their supplies at the apothecary, and bought Shikamaru a trunk like Naruto and Harry's.

"Books," said Hermione coming up behind with Neville next to her.

"Yo," said Naruto with a small wave of the hand and a friendly smile.

"Hey guys," greeted Neville with a smile. He had definitely been sticking to the workout program over the summer. He had thinned out incredibly and he carried himself with a great sense of confidence.

"I think books are the only thing left for us too," said Ginny helpfully with a smile towards Hermione.

"Great, we'll be just in time too," said Hermione with an excited and giddy look.

"In time for what?" asked Harry having a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Oh, just come on you'll see, it's so exciting," said Hermione grabbing Ginny's hand and dragging her off towards Flourish and Blotts.

"This won't end well," said Neville with a sigh.

They approached the store cautiously seeing the large crowd assembled outside. "Great," mumbled Naruto before an idea struck him, "Forgive me for this Harry but there is no other way."

Harry looked at Naruto once knowing exactly what he was about to do and dreading every moment of it.

"STAND ASIDE PEOPLE, HARRY POTTER COMING THROUGH," shouted Naruto loudly causing the crowd to part and start whispering.

Harry was cringing but Hermione and Ginny were both very excited to be getting in so easily by following Harry so he just grinned and kept walking.

Soon enough they reached the front of the crowd where book signing was apparently being held. "Oh there you children are," said Molly as he ushered all of them to join her.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to welcome Gilderoy Lockhart," said one of the store managers.

The man that appeared looked like an idiot to Harry and Naruto both.

"Thank you, thank you," he said with a thousand watt smile that made both Naruto and Harry cringe knowing that something bad was about to happen.

"My word, is that Harry Potter," said Lockhart with a giant smile before grabbing Harry rather forcefully and pulling him up in front of the camera. Lockhart then whispered to him, "Smile . . . together you and I rate the front page."

Harry didn't take to the well at all. Faster than Lockhart could blink Harry took the arm that was holding him and spun and twist the limb at an unnatural angle before he slammed the man's face into the solid oak table causing a very satisfying and audible crunch as the man's nose was shattered rather painfully. "I'm not here to help you become more famous and I'm not some publicity tool. Don't ever touch me again or so help me a broken nose will be the least of your worries." With that said Harry grabbed the back of his robes and pulled him back to standing before throwing him into a stack of his own books which tumbled down on top of him.

"Idiot," said Naruto with a grin while most of the people looked on in awe at what Harry had just down.

"Put that on your front page," said Harry angrily to the reporters before he stalked off to find his text books.

Naruto though walked over to Lockhart, "Don't ever try that again or I will become involved and trust me when I say that you don't want me involved." Naruto's eyes turned bright orange for only an instant but it was enough to cause Lockhart to wet himself.

"Hey, photo guy, look at this, he wet himself," shouted Naruto with a loud cackle and pointing which the photographer jumped upon instantly.

With that issue resolved Naruto went to find Harry only to see that Ginny had him covered.

"Bet you enjoyed that didn't you Scarhead," said a snide voice that could only belong to one person.

"Go away Malfoy or you'll have a broken nose to match," threatened Ginny fiercely impressing both Harry and Naruto.

"What's this Potter? Got yourself a little girlfriend?" asked Malfoy thinking funny.

"And what if I have?" asked Harry, "Its one more woman than I see hanging around your ugly ass. Or do you have to pay for your women first for them to pay the first bit of attention to you?"

Malfoy flushed at that and found himself silenced.

"What is this Draco?" asked a voice that must have belonged to Malfoy's father, "Well, well, well, what do you we have here? The famous Harry Potter."

Mr. Weasley chose that moment to interrupt, "Come along children, time to go."

"Arthur Weasley," said Malfoy with a hint of superiority, "These are your children? I do hope that the ministry is paying you overtime for all the raids you've been on recently. I mean, it looks like you can hardly afford to cloth your children as it is let alone pay for their schooling." He then picked up a book from inside of Ginny's Cauldron and leafed through it.

"Leave my family alone," stated Harry very eager to put this man into a world of pain.

"Your family? But I thought they were all dead," said Malfoy with a sneer.

Mr. Weasley felt pride that Harry considered him family. It was then that Malfoy said something inexcusable.

"Oh, I see, I'm so sorry Arthur, I didn't realize you were so desperate for money that you sold your only daughter to the Potter family to get it," said Malfoy cuttingly.

Arthur was about to attack when Naruto restrained him with just a hand on the shoulder and a shake of the head.

"Mr. Malfoy, you have made several assumptions today," said Harry with a smirk that told he knew something that would put Malfoy in his place, "You assumed that Mr. Weasley sold me his daughter out of desperation and not of great reluctance. You assumed that I would be a silent child and just take this abuse. Your assumptions have blemished my good family name and the good name of the Weasley family. For that, I'm going to bring you to ruin. Your family fortune will be gone within the year, I will buy, takeover, or put out of business every last business you are involved in. Soon, you will find yourself in far worse financial standing than Mr. Weasley and will be quite envious for the second hand books he can afford to give his children while you will be lucky to be able to give your son, let alone yourself, a piece of stale moldy bread to eat in a month. So, let me tell you your only options. Option 1, apologize and pay 50,000 galleons recompense to both myself and the Weasley family and I will leave you be. Option 2, don't apologize, and walk out of this building and into permanent ruination that will be wrought against you by my entire family's fortune. The choice is yours."

Malfoy glared indignantly at the boy. He did not count on the boy ever having the slightest knowledge of the real power that held in the wizarding world. The fact was that the Potter estate was several hundred times greater than the Malfoy estate due to poor financial management by his ancestors and partly by himself.

Finally after a long period of silence Malfoy turned to Arthur, "I apologize for my poor behavior and slanderous remarks. I will have the funds for recompense transferred this afternoon and we will consider the matter closed." Malfoy than turned on his heal and marched out of the store dragging a complaining and sputtering Draco behind him.

Arthur though just looked at Harry absolutely stunned. He couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed happen. "Harry, how could you possibly . . . how did you . . . why did you . . ."

"Harry spent a good portion of the summer holiday studying wizard politics and financial system," explained Naruto, "And with Shikamaru's help, he managed to learn quite a bit about dealing with pureblood assholes like that."

"But Harry, that's so much money," protested Arthur.

"Nonsense," said Harry, "That was the minimum I could have demanded of him given the level of insults he raised against us. If I had demanded any less he would have laughed at me and not taken it seriously. Besides, we got really lucky he agreed. He could have easily refused and I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. My family estate is currently held in trust until I am of age to manage it all, I was lucky he didn't know that."

Arthur was completely dumbfounded. This young man had just arranged for Lucius Malfoy to pay 50,000 galleons in recompense on a bluff of bringing ruination on his family wealth. It was more money that Arthur would make in his current position with the ministry for the next 15 years.

"Are you okay Ginny?" asked Harry turning to the young girl who looked to be on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry for what he said and I'm sorry I said that you were my girlfriend like that, and . . ." Harry would have continued rambling apologies except that he found himself in a bone crushing hug from Ginny saying 'Thank you' over and over again.

"Great, so lunch is on the Weasley's," said Naruto loudly patting his stomach.


	10. Chapter 10

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"So, where do you think Shikamaru will end up?" asked Naruto as he sat happily at the long house table.

"Ravenclaw," said Ron rather miffed with Shikamaru. Ron had never lost at chess before, not ever. And yet, he lost to Shikamaru . . . twice in four games. Little did Ron know, but Shikamaru was dealing with the same issue towards Ron.

"Nah, he'll be Gryffindor," said Harry, "He's too lazy for Ravenclaw."

"I say Hufflepuff," said Hermione, "He's as loyal as can be." It seemed that Hermione thought Shikamaru was cute and funny. Yet one more thing that Ron was miffed at Shikamaru for.

"Trust me, he'll end up in Gryffindor," said Harry confidently, "He may not show it but he is rather brave. After all, he did agree to become Anko-sensei's student."

"Shikamaru Nara," called McGonagall at long last.

Shikamaru yawned and stepped up to the podium and took his seat on the stool. The hat was then placed on his head.

_Well now, this is interesting. Yet one more of you Shinobi in my school, I shall have to choose carefully where to put you. You're smart yes, very smart but you don't value your intelligence. Ah, but you are very loyal to your friends, especially Choji. Very interesting, just mentioning the name and you've become extremely protective. I can see here that you are very protective of all your friends, very much like your teammates. Yes, I think to break this team would be a mistake so I shall put you in _"Gryffindor!" the hat finally shouted.

"Told you, now pay up," said Harry holding out his hand to collect a sickle from each of them.

"You were betting on which house I'd be put in?" asked Shikamaru with a yawn before he sat at the table and laid his head down to rest.

"You've got to be the laziest person I've ever met," said Hermione.

"Thank you," said Shikamaru with a smile before he closed his eyes.

Hermione huffed once before she decided to ignore him, not that he was paying any attention to her anyway. Soon enough Ginny was up and placed in Gryffindor where she happily took up the seat next to Harry that he had saved for her.

"Welcome students, welcome," said Dumbledore for his start of term speech now that the food was finished, "Welcome back to another year. As you can see, we seem to be missing a teacher. I had one lined up to fill the position but he has a had a change of heart it would seem and is no longer interested and would rather spend the year promoting his books instead. However, as luck would have it, I have arranged for another teacher, unfortunately he will not arrive until tomorrow evening. So, those of you who are schedule to have defense against the dark arts tomorrow you will have to sit through a boring lesson with yours truly." This was met an enormous bout of cheering from all tables save the Slytherins. "Thank you, thank you," said Dumbledore waving the students to quiet down, "Again, I would like to remind you all that the Forbidden forest is exactly that, forbidden. Now, off to bed with you all."

Harry and crew all left for the dormitory to settle in for the night and wake up really early for training.

**BREAK**

"Welcome students," greeted Dumbledore once all of the students were seated for the first defense lesson of the year. He enjoyed the looks of intense interest that the students were giving him. He had not, even as a transfiguration teacher, had such focus on him before as a teacher. It was rather enjoyable to him to say the least.

"Good, now that you're all seated let's begin," said Dumbledore with a smile, "Now, I am no expert at defense against the dark arts nor am I the greatest dueler in history. But in my time I have learned a thing or two that have been quite useful to me. Now, before becoming Headmaster I was the transfiguration teacher in these hallowed halls. When one thinks of defense they rarely think of using transfiguration." Dumbledore then wave his wand and caused the floor to ripple up with several spikes that could easily impale someone. "Now, this is an extremely dangerous and even more difficult bit of transfiguration to ever attempt. I would highly recommend against it lest you find yourselves locked away in Azkaban for injuring someone or worse killing your self. Now, can anyone think of any transfiguration they have learn thus far that could be applied to defense?"

Harry raised his hand.

"Yes Mr. Potter?"

"Well, our first lesson was to change a match stick into a needle. What if you changed a stick into a sword or knife? You could use that."

"Very good thinking Mr. Potter, though I dare say that most of you would find it very difficult to fight using a sword. Anyone else?"

A Ravenclaw girl raised her hand.

"Yes Miss Patel?"

"You could change a rock into a shield maybe," she suggested.

"Also good, but again along the same lines as Mr. Potter's thinking. Anyone else have an idea?"

Neville raised his hand.

"Yes Mr. Longbottom?"

"Well, you could change something into an animal to protect you," he suggested.

"Excellent idea, but I wonder, how would you stop the animal from attacking you?"

Neville blushed in embarrassment at the laughs of his classmates.

"No need to be embarrassed Mr. Longbottom, it was still a very good idea," said Dumbledore.

A few other students made suggestions from the insane to the insanely funny.

"Mr. Kazama?" asked Dumbledore finally not liking the smile on his face.

"You could transfigure Anko-sensei's clothes into a pretty pink frilly dress and then blame it on the person attacking you," said Naruto with a chuckle which was soon joined by uproarious laughter by the entire class.

Dumbledore even laughed at the idea heartily, "Yes, that would be a most effective defense mechanism. Now that everyone has suggested something, I want you to write me six inches on how to do it. Name the spell and explain how it works as well as why your idea would work or not work. Please turn it into your new teacher at your next lesson and he will get them to me." It was then the bell tolled ending the lesson.

The students all bustled out of the room laughing and talking excitedly about the lesson.

Dumbledore smiled as he watched his children leave the room talking happily. It was his most successful lesson ever to date. As he waited for his next class to arrive he popped a lemon drop into his mouth and sucked on it happily as he waited for the fifth years that were due to arrive shortly.

Meanwhile in the halls on their way to their next lesson Naruto, Harry, Neville, Ron, and Hermione were excitedly chatting away.

"Spider, that spider idea was simply brilliant," said Neville with a laugh to Ron.

"They'd bloody well have scared me off," said Ron with a smile at his friends.

"What about Brains?" asked Naruto still laughing, "Turning the ground into quicksand would be awesome."

"It's just practical," said Hermione trying to act smug and failing miserably.

"I still say that Naruto's plan was the best," said Harry still laughing, "Anko would castrate the person that did that to her and then she'd kill him just to bring him back to life and do it again."

"Want to test that theory?" asked Naruto mischievously smiling at his friends.

"Hell no," they all shouted at once glaring at Naruto for even suggesting it.

"Awe, come on. We could pin it on Malfoy," he suggested with a smile.

"Naruto, none of us want to risk her temper," said Harry ending the discussion.

"But guys," whined Naruto chasing after them still laughing.

Dinner that evening we filled with both anticipation and regret. Anticipation to meet the new defense teacher and regret that Dumbledore wouldn't be teaching them anymore.

"Now, before we eat, I'd like to take just a moment of your time before we eat to introduce our new defense professor, Remus Lupin."

Lupin stood and waved to the students. He looked rather sickly as though a light wind would knock him over. Yet, Naruto and Harry could both sense some kind of hidden strength within him. What it was they had no idea?

"Now, let's eat," said Dumbledore with a smile as food covered the tables save for ramen bowls placed before Naruto, Harry, and Anko all the food was back to normal. Somehow, Dumbledore had learned the password over the summer and changed it to his benefit.

Most of the table were talking and laughing about different things in good humor and fun.

Anko though seemed to be glaring at Naruto with a massive amount of killer intent. She would definitely have her revenge on the boy. That much was certain.

**BREAK**

The next morning at breakfast the crew all chatted and laughed as they joked about stupid pointless thing. Naruto and Harry were looking a bit more beat up than usual. Anko had heard about their little joke in Defense and decided to make them pay for it severely. Even still, they didn't let that deter them from laughing and joking with their friends.

Without warning, a loud screech erupted from the head table. All head turned to look only to see Anko in a frilly hot pink dress with matching hand bag. After which all heads turned to look at Naruto.

Naruto though looked terrified as he knew he would be blamed for it. He quickly stood up on top of the table and shouted at the top of his voice, "I had nothing to do with this." Then he spotted Malfoy snickering. Naruto pointed at the boy, "You! You're trying to frame me for this."

"Prove it," said Malfoy with a superior smirk.

Meanwhile, Anko was running across the table top at full speed not disturbing a single dish as she went.

Naruto suddenly turned to see her coming, "Oh shit." There was a bright flash before Naruto appeared standing on another table, "Anko-sensei, I swear, I didn't do it."

Anko though just glared at him in her pink dress ready to stain it red, "I don't care who did it. You gave them the idea."

Anko jumped at him faster than she had moved before. Naruto didn't have time to use Shunshin with the speed she was moving and instead decided to block the several strikes that were rained upon him by the irate Kunoichi.

"Shit, shit, shit, I am so fucked," said Naruto leaping away with a twisting flip. He landed only to see Anko in front of him smirking. Naruto didn't have enough time to even send a small prayer requesting a nice place in heaven before he was left seeing black.

Anko decked him . . . hard . . . hard enough to send him flying from one end of the long Hufflepuff table over the heads of the stunned students and into the stone masonry leaving a Naruto-sized indentation in the wall.

"Ouch," breathed Naruto before he fell out of the indentation and landed with a loud thump on the stone floor.

"Let that be a lesson to all of you not to mess with me," said Anko with a huff before she stormed off to burn the dress.

"Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore calling the attention of the students back to him, "Would you please drag your cousin to the infirmary to be treated?"

Harry sighed heavily before shaking his head in disbelief, "Yes sir." Harry the roughly grabbed one of Naruto's legs and dragged him out of the Great Hall to the Hospital Wing.

"Let us resume our meals, shall we?" said Dumbledore to the still awed students.

Once Harry and Naruto were out of sight their friends began talking in hushed but excited whispers.

"It actually worked," said Ron with a grin trying not laugh too much.

"I knew she wouldn't react well but to get so violent," said Hermione more than a bit surprised.

"Naruto and Harry said she was rough but that was a bit much," said Neville.

"We should probably apologize to him later," said Ginny.

"Nah, he doesn't need to know we did it. It would just upset him," said Ron.

"Besides," said Neville with a giant grin, "Now he's totally charged up to make Malfoy's life hell."

With that the group all laughed heavily in loud peals of laughter and joy.

"I still can't believe we were able to convince Dumbledore to do it," said Hermione with a laugh.

"It's like you explained it to him, it was a test in the practical application of defense theory," said Ron acting formal and knowledgeable before breaking into more laughter.

Little did anyone notice but the new defense professor had to excuse himself to laugh without being seen by anyone in pure joy at the prank. It was just too much. After laughing for a while, something he hadn't done in a long time, he smiled as he thought about how much James would have loved that.

Remus knew about how Harry grew up. He knew about his cousin Naruto so he wasn't too shocked by the display. But it was something else to see it first hand instead of just from stories from Lily. He smiled fondly at the thought before he made his way to his office to prepare for his new career as a teacher, a career he truly hoped he would be able to keep the rest of his life if he was very lucky.

Remus had a while to reflect on the amusement of the situation. He couldn't believe he actually witnessed Dumbledore transfiguring that strange and rude teacher's clothes. Then there was the teacher herself, Anko. She outright refused to dress like a professor, she had worse table manners than most of the students. She was up front, and to the point and she could be downright funny in the short time he'd had to talk to her. He liked her instantly, she was very much like Sirius but much darker. Thinking of Sirius turned his thoughts to much darker things. Things best left forgotten in the past.

"You," said a voice stirring him from his thoughts. Remus looked up to see the teacher, Anko, approaching him back in her tan overcoat and far too tight shirt.

"Hello," he greeted her, "Anko right?"

"Yeah, you're the new defense teacher right?"

Remus nodded, "That's right."

"Good, then I want you to listen to me very carefully," said Anko looking dead in the eye.

Remus swallowed nervously. This woman suddenly gave off an aura that made even him worried. "What can I do for you?" he finally asked.

"I want to make sure you are one hundred times harder on Harry and Naruto. They are good kids but if you let up on them for even a moment or fail to challenge them they'll slack off and I'll be left cleaning up the mess and I hate, I mean absolutely detest, cleaning. Don't put me in that situation or so help me what I did to Naruto today is going to seem soft and fluffy compared to what I do to you. Clear?"

Remus nodded quickly not wishing to tempt this woman in anyway. His opinion of her had suddenly changed. She was not like Sirius Black in anyway other than the playful nature she showed on the surface. She was definitely more of a Mad Eye Moody type

"Good, now relax," she said letting her playful nature return, "They are only brats, they can't do much against you."

Somehow that didn't seem to reassure him at all. He decided then and there that this was a very dangerous woman and he definitely didn't want to get on her bad side . . . ever.

With that the woman strode away smirking confidently that she'd done enough to welcome the new teacher.

**BREAK**

Naruto spent the remainder of his day grumbling about 'crazy psychotic biatches' much to the amusement of Harry and all of his friends.

"Mr. Kazama," called Professor McGonagall snapping him out of his thoughts.

The group was walking down to dinner when her call distracted them.

"Yo, what's up Obaachan?"

McGonagall raised her eyebrow. She didn't know what the word meant but she knew enough about Naruto to know it was probably something that should annoy her. "I'll thank you not to call me that. I wanted to remind you we will be resuming your extra lessons this evening after dinner."

"I'll be there," said Naruto with a grin that finally something that day had gone according to plan.

"See you then," said McGonagall walking back towards her office.

"What lessons?" asked Harry. He was surprised really. Naruto had always mentioned when he was going to do something different from Harry.

"Has to do with fuzzy," said Naruto patting his stomach.

"You told her," shouted Harry much to the surprise of their friends.

"Of course not, you think I'm stupid?" Naruto replied more than a little miffed.

"Then what the hell is going on?" demanded Harry.

"She's teaching me to understand . . ." Naruto hesitated noticing the really interested looks he was getting from their friends.

Suddenly Harry became aware of the eyes on them. "We'll talk about this later, right now I'm hungry."

"Ramen," shouted Naruto gleefully as he did a little happy dance towards the Great Hall for dinner.

"Damn," said Hermione much the other surprise, "They were so close to blabbing."

"You know," said Ron resting an arm on Hermione's shoulder causing her to blush, "You'd think that with as loud as they are that they wouldn't have a single secret between them and yet they are completely shrouded in mystery."

Ginny gave Ron a shocked look before whispering to Shikamaru, "When the hell did he get so smart?"

"It's too troublesome to figure out," said Shikamaru with a lazy yawn earning him an elbow to the stomach from Ginny before she ran after Harry to chat him up again.

"This place is too troublesome," said Shikamaru rubbing his tender ribs.

"Keep saying that and you just might end up with more trouble," said Neville with a grin.

After dinner Harry followed Naruto to have that talk with him only for Anko to cut him off. "Let's go Potter," said Anko, "We've got more work to do and Naruto has his own work to do."

"But . . ." Harry tried to protest only to be gagged and tied and dragged into the dungeons of the castle where he was unceremoniously dumped.

"Well now, ready to start?" asked Anko with a sadistic grin, "Slither your way out of these bindings if want me to teach you something cool. Little did he know she meant it literally.

**BREAK**

Naruto arrived to Professor McGonagall's office on time with a smile. He was eager to show her the progress he had made.

"Welcome back Mr. Kazama," said McGonagall with a fond smile. Naruto may not have been the smartest student in the school but he seemed to really enjoy transfiguration and excel at it. His papers were awful, rushed, and not well thought out but his practical work was near the top of the class, only beaten by Hermione, Harry, and surprisingly Neville Longbottom.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, let's just get started," said Naruto. He wasn't one for pleasantries when it came time for training which McGonagall had learned rather early in their private lessons. When they were together like this it was work time and not time for talking or chatting until they had finished the day's work.

"Right, let us start by reviewing everything you learn last year in order from first change to twenty-fifth," order McGonagall, "And want you to do it twenty times in a row." Years ago she had developed a step or change system for becoming an Animagus. There were sixty-seven small changes that all lead up to changing fully into an animal form. "After that, I want you to perform the first twenty-five change at the same time and change back to normal fifty times. If I am satisfied with your speed and accuracy then we will start learning the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh change."

Naruto nodded once as he began the steps as she ordered. It would exhaust a lot of chakra if he didn't have precise control and beyond that it usually left his bones and muscles sore for several days following. The ache was becoming less and less the more he practiced but at the same time as he added more to it the pain for that change became as fresh as the first change he ever attempted. He may have normally been impatient but he took this particular training very seriously and decided that being patient in these changes was a very good thing.

It took Naruto nearly two hours to work through the first twenty-five changes the way she ordered him to. He would change his finger shape, his leg shape, his feet, his arms, his nose, and several other small things. The idea was to get the bones and muscles used to shifting and changing over time so that by the time you were ready to do a full transformation it would come much, much easier and not nearly as painful.

"Very good, your change time is becoming faster," said McGonagall praising him. She hadn't expected him to make such progress in the speed of the changes. He was changing at the same speed she would have expected him to if he were in the final two steps. The only reason the changes took as long as they did today was because she had assigned him a quantity that she didn't think he'd be able to do that night. She just wanted to dangle a carrot before him to get him enthusiastic about it.

"Thanks, so do we still have time for twenty-six and seven?" asked Naruto eager to try the next step.

McGonagall checked her clock, it was getting late but then again Naruto did complete her impossible task, "Very well, but let us be quick about it."

"Yes," said Naruto before he gave her his full attention and focus.

**BREAK**

Naruto and Harry both returned to the dorm exhausted that night and crashed into their cots too tired to talk or finish their argument. But their run the next morning was anything but pleasant as they both finally let out their frustrations that had been building up recently.

"So what the hell is going on? How long have you been getting extra lessons from McGonagall? What the hell does she know about fuzzy?" demanded Harry angrily as they began their running spar.

"I've been taking lesson from her since last Christmas right after the listening exercise," said Naruto defensively, "She's helping me to understand the damn fox instincts and senses that have been all but overwhelming not that you'd ever notice."

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Harry.

"When was the last time Anko-sensei taught me anything that she wasn't teaching both of us at the same time?" asked Naruto to make his point.

"So what if she's teaching me privately," said Harry, "You seem to be getting your own special lesson too. And you also have a blood limit that once you've mastered will make you damn near invincible. Oh, and let's not forget your obsession with sealing, something that Sandaime personally helped you with."

"Hey, he hasn't helped me once with learning how to do it. He just returned to me my father's scroll on the subject," said Naruto angrily.

"Yet more evidence of your family and history that I'll never have the privilege of knowing. It's not like my mother or father left any books behind for me to read or learn from," shouted Harry.

"Oh yes, let's bring that up again shall we," said Naruto, "Have I ever held back from letting to you read anything my father or family left behind for me? Have I even once refused to show or share any of the things I've learned with you? The answer is a big fat 'Hell No'."

"Oh, then why didn't you tell me about your lessons with McGonagall? Why didn't ask if I wanted to learn too?"

"Oh, let me think," Naruto said sarcastically, "How about because every time I've tried to ask, you've been dragged off by Anko-sensei for more private lessons? Again!"

"She only has to teach me because I don't have your blood limit and can't use your family techniques and Taijutsu effectively. Besides, you're still learning your family techniques from the scroll so what do you care?"

"Gee, it's fun learning by myself with no one to practice with or anyone to point out when I make a mistake like a sensei should do, but then you wouldn't know what that's like seeing as you're getting Anko-sensei's full attention."

"What about Shikamaru? He's not getting Anko-sensei's full attention and I don't see him complaining," shouted Harry.

"Yeah, that's 'cause he had his father showing him how to do everything all summer before he came so he would know what to practice," said Naruto loudly.

Throughout the argument they carried on a rather vicious spar that only became more violent as they went on. Shikamaru could watch in awed silence as the two battled out their anger and suppress frustration with each other. He cringed when he heard Anko-sensei's name dragged into the argument because she was standing right next to him listening to the entire thing with a serious look on her face.

Anko had been waiting for this to happen. It had been building for quite some time. It was high time they got it out of the way. She knew that she had been leaving Naruto to fend for himself. But the simple fact was, Naruto was a better shinobi that Harry was. He had been coming into his skills rapidly now that he had activated his bloodline limit his growth had become even greater than before, he just didn't know it. His moves were still sloppy and did need some attention and for that she did feel a slight bit of regret for not helping him to polish off those moves. Harry on the other hand needed a lot of work to make him into a competent shinobi if the boy intended to stay on par with Naruto. He needed a style that fit him well and he needed the skills to match. Much to her shame, she became too engrossed in helping Harry grow to follow in her footsteps she had neglected Naruto, someone who was already neglected enough in the village and now here, was often pushed aside because of his famous cousin. Harry as a result was starting to out stripe Naruto's progress because of all the one-on-one training. She could see this in the fight she watched now. Harry was getting tired but his hits were more and more effective when compared with Naruto's now seemingly sloppy movement. Naruto was still going stronger had a much better endurance and chakra supply but Harry was definitely wearing him down. If they had been going for the kill here, Naruto would probably be dead.

Through all of this, Anko failed to take one thing into account when she determined that Harry would need more help in his training. He was a far superior wizard when compared to Naruto. Naruto was barely passing his classes as he relied entirely on his practical work just as he had in the Academy, where Harry was excelling in both aspects only beaten by the knowledge of Hermione Granger.

Anko decided there that things were going to change. She walked up to the two that were still exchanging painful blows and hit both of them into the ground hard. "That's enough!"

Naruto was still quite angry as he picked himself up off the ground, "Sorry Anko-sensei, didn't mean to bloody up your prize pupil." Naruto then adapted a rather placid look on his face prepared for her vengeance.

Anko sighed, she deserved that, "Shut the hell up you loud brat!" She had shouted it but her heart just wasn't into it as she hauled Harry up off the ground and stood him up.

"Sorry Anko-sensei," said Harry genuinely before he thought 'Sorry I didn't outright beat him senseless.'

"It would seem we have some things to address," said Anko coldly understanding perfectly the situation she now had to deal with. Both boys looked away from each other angrily. "We're going to settle this now. Shikamaru, go do your work out while I deal with these two."

Shikamaru nodded and left to take care of his own training. He seemed to have a lot to think about now too.

"Now I want both of you to listen to me," said Anko in a serious and yet somewhat gentle voice that caught both Naruto and Harry off guard. "When I first got here I saw the potential that both of you have. But the fact was that at that time Naruto was a far better shinobi than you were Harry." Harry wanted to protest but silenced by the sincere look in Anko's eyes. "If you two were to continue being a team Harry needed a style that fit his needs. He just happened to fit the potential to follow in my footsteps so I grabbed it and brought out. As a result Harry got the one on one attention he needed to learn the skills and catch up to you Naruto. The problem was that even once he did, I didn't do my job right. I continued to focus on Harry and neglected the fact that Naruto still needs help with his own techniques. As a result, Harry is far more polished in his fighting style and has mastered more skills than you have Naruto despite you learning more of your family's skills and then taking the initiative to learn sealing as well." Anko sighed again. She hated dropping her 'royal-bitch' façade but it seemed necessary this time to make her point. "Then came Shikamaru, and I turned my attention towards him to try and bring him up to par with you two for strength and endurance, but even then I still focused on Harry. Now with all of my attention on Harry and Shikamaru I neglected your training even further Naruto."

"Just forget it Anko-sensei," said Naruto finally snapping out of it tired of listening to her reasoning, "I don't give a shit. I'm used to be pushed aside so why should you be any different than the rest of that damned village. After all, I'm just some demon right?" Naruto just stormed away then.

"He's not going to forgive me is he?" asked Anko soberly to Harry.

"I don't know," said Harry, "I've never seen him so angry before." Harry was finding himself regretting his harsh words to Naruto during their fight. Harry was so wrapped up in his own little world and his own training to even bother noticing what Naruto was going through.

**BREAK**

Naruto disappeared from site for several days. He could be seen in classes on time but he was not to be found anywhere else. Where ever it was he had chosen to hide neither Anko nor Harry could locate him. It was starting to worry everyone else as well.

"Why won't he even talk to us?" questioned Hermione worriedly at dinner, "I can understand if he were angry at one of us for something specific but to take it out on all of us is just wrong."

"He's being childish," said Ron with his mouth full, "when he's ready to talk to us again he will."

"He's not being childish," defended Harry, "He is supremely pissed off with me and Anko-sensei and he has every right to be."

"What did you do exactly?" asked Hermione for the billionth time.

"It's a family matter, don't concern yourself," said Harry angrily. He was angrier with himself than anything.

"Don't snap at me for caring about him," snapped Hermione.

Harry sighed, "I know, I'm sorry. It's just that he has never been so angry with me before. Even at his worst in the past he would at least talk to me about it so we could work it out. I just can't tell who he is angrier with, me or Anko-sensei."

"She's been a bit on the scarce side herself," noted Neville looking at her empty chair at the head table.

"Yeah, well, the damn ministry finally stepped in," admitted Harry. "I guess this guy named Chocolate showed up and demanded to see her teaching credentials after Malfoy's old man complained. Dumbledore wasn't exactly prepared for it and now Anko-sensei has to take the damn Ministry Exam to qualify as a Potions Mistress. As a result, she's been shut up in that stupid as lab studying the Ministry guidelines and requirements."

"You mean she wasn't Ministry Certified before?" asked Hermione in shock.

"Hermione, there are only two Ministry Certified teachers in the school," said Neville, "And that's McGonagall and Sinistra, Dumbledore isn't even certified."

"But that is just crazy," said Hermione, "How can they get away with not employing certified teachers?"

"Hermione, wizards and muggles don't do things the same way," explained Neville, "We have a much less formal society and act more on tradition than requirements."

"That doesn't make it right," said Hermione with a huff.

Harry sighed and put his head in his hands, "We're getting off topic. We need to find Naruto and talk to him."

"Mr. Kazama is still avoiding you I see," said McGonagall as she approached the group.

"Yes Professor," said Harry resignedly before he suddenly perked up, "Professor, has Naruto still been going to your lessons?"

"Without fail," said McGonagall, "In fact, I am on my way to see him now."

"Can we come with you to talk to him?" asked Hermione.

"Miss Granger, that would not be wise," said McGonagall, "Mr. Kazama is going through something very difficult right now with me and requires complete focus."

"Did he tell you what happened?" asked Harry unhappily.

"Our sessions are purely work related, as you should be well aware of your cousin's work ethic. He has not confided in me nor have I asked him to. If he feels the need to talk to me he will and until then I will not interfere. I would suggest you wait patiently until he is ready to talk with you directly." With that McGonagall left them to ponder her words.

"I guess that answers that," said Harry banging his head into the table.

"We just have to be patient and wait on him then," said Hermione with a sigh before she looked around, "Hey, where's Ginny at?"

"I saw her up in the common room writing in her Diary," said Ron with a still full mouth.

"Please swallow before you speak Ronald," said Hermione as if she were chiding a child. Ron though just took another bite of food stuffing his mouth even fuller and looked at her pointedly to which she just huffed and excused herself from the table.

Meanwhile Naruto had been whole up in the Room of Requirement with his father's sealing scrolls. He really just needed some time to clear his head. He'd taken to sending clones to his lessons in his place to take notes. The only lesson he personally attended was his Animagus lessons with McGonagall because he really wanted to learn it. He was already having some success in understanding her voice and messages better. However, her present advice was not something Naruto wanted to listen to.

The sealing scroll he was working through now was the intermediate level and it was by far the most complicated thing he'd ever read in his life. He dreaded thinking about the difficulty of the advanced scrolls if this was only the intermediate level.

Currently it was going into the deconstruction of basic seals for the purpose of disabling them. Drawing stored chakra from an object and deconstructing the individual seal lines the chakra belonged to at the same time was nearly impossible and put his chakra control abilities to the ultimate test. He could not absorb the chakra nor could he just release it into the air. It actually had to be transferred into a new seal designed specifically for the task of unsealing and then it had to be capable of sealing the amount of chakra that there was to be removed from the seal in question. Just creating the storage seal alone was damn near impossible and you were lucky if it didn't blow up in your face making it.

Finally Naruto surrendered and made his way to McGonagall's office for his lesson. He walked in the shadow of the high ceilings to ensure he wouldn't be spotted by Harry or any of the others.

Naruto dropped silently to the floor and entered the office placing a small seal on the door to ensure they wouldn't be disturbed. Luckily, this was a seal that could just be deactivated by just opening the door from the inside and didn't require being deconstructed. Naruto wasn't sure if he'd have the energy to deconstruct a seal after his lesson with McGonagall.

"Good evening Mr. Kazama," said McGonagall welcoming him in.

"Evening Professor," said Naruto in a friendly enough manner.

"Well, with the progress we've made over the last two weeks you should be feeling quite comfortable with the first thirty changes so I want to see each change in order, one at a time twenty time and then I want to see all the changes done instantly twenty times. After that, we'll review steps thirty-one through thirty-five and see about adding thirty-six. Get to work."

Naruto just nodded and started to work. He knew tonight would be tough and he was prepared for the work, in fact, he was even looking forward to it if he kept him from thinking about everyone.

Hours passed with Naruto performing the tasks set by Professor McGonagall exhausting himself thoroughly.

"Well done Mr. Kazama, I'll see you again in two days," said McGonagall.

Naruto smiled and breathed deeply relaxing himself when he heard her again "_They're waiting for you."_

"Damn it," said Naruto.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow, "Is something wrong?"

"They are all waiting in the hall for me," said Naruto.

"By 'they' do you mean your cousin and all of your friends?" asked McGonagall.

"Yeah, she told me they were waiting for me," said Naruto, "I don't suppose you could go out there and tell them all to leave?"

"I will tell you what I told them, I will not involve myself in this issue," said McGonagall with a slight frown.

"Is there another way out of here then?"

"Only if you want to go out the window but I would not recommend that without a broom as we are several stories up, you know, you could just try talking to them," said McGonagall, her frown still plastered to her face.

"Nah, the window will work," said Naruto before he jumped up to the window ledge and pushed it open much to the dismay of Professor McGonagall, "See you Thursday night then Professor." And with that he was gone.

McGonagall sat there dumbfounded for a minute thinking that a student just jumped from her window to his death. Suddenly she snapped out of it and rushed to the window only to see Naruto casually walking down the castle wall as you would the floor. She blinked several times to be sure of what she was seeing but each time she opened her eyes she saw the same thing until he ducked into another window several floors down. Then she recalled exactly who Naruto and Harry had both been raised by and the surprise was not as great.

"I guess I'd best inform Mr. Potter and the others to return to their dorms," said McGonagall to no one in particular.

**BREAK**

"How did he avoid us?" complained Hermione, "He couldn't have slipped past us."

"He must have snuck out the window," said Harry thoughtfully, "Though, I do wonder how he knew that we were waiting for him."

"How could he sneak out the window?" asked Neville.

"Yeah, no kidding, McGonagall's office is six floors up," said Ron.

They were all equally miffed at Naruto's managing to avoid them yet again. Harry was especially miffed as there should not have been a way for him to avoid Harry that he would not have figured out before hand seeing as they both had the same training.

Without thinking too carefully on the question Harry answered, "He walked down the wall."

"How the hell do you just walk down a wall?" asked Ron in shock.

"Put magic on your feet and use it to stick to the wall," said Harry still lost in his own thought, "Just like the leaf exercise but on a bigger scale and using your feet."

"That works?" asked Neville in disbelief.

"Well if it didn't he would now be a nice red mark on the castle grounds," said Harry getting agitated by being pulled out of his thoughts. Suddenly he realized what he'd just told them, "I'm kidding."

None of them believed him in the slightest.

"Is this part of that wandless magic Olivander was talking about?" asked Ron curiously.

"Yeah," said Harry defeated. He knew he couldn't take it back now.

"Do you think that since we were able to do the leaf thing that maybe we could do the wall walking thing too?" asked Neville curiously.

"Yeah, it's just pure cha . . . err . . . magic manipulation and control," said Harry, "I guess I could show you guys tomorrow morning but don't expect to get it right away if ever."

"Hey, we just want to try it," said Ron.

"Yeah, could you imagine how much easier it would be place pranks?" asked Neville with a grin.

"How do you think Naruto and I planted some of them in the past?" asked Harry with a grin.

"Now we definitely have to learn," said Ron with a grin to match.

**BREAK**

Naruto ducked back into the castle in a darkened office. It was barely lit by the dying embers of a fire. It was mostly silent, however the sound of a large something breathing could be heard. Naturally this made Naruto curious. Perhaps Fluffy was in the castle again or another of Hagrid's friends.

"Hello," said Naruto peering into the darkness and spotting a large furry lump curled up on a rug. The lump stirred and suddenly there two bright yellow eyes staring out at him from the darkness.

"Grrr," growled the beast.

Naruto could sense that this beast wasn't happy about him being their but he didn't sense any malice behind it. "Well aren't you just the cutest little puppy?" Naruto laughed playfully at the giant dog-like creature.

The beast rolled its eyes. This boy seemed to hold no fear of him at all.

"You are surprisingly smart for a giant dog," said Naruto, "Not many creatures I know would roll their eyes at me for joking like that. And trust me when I say I've met some very interesting creatures."

The beast seemed to settle back on the floor and watch Naruto. He just had to hope the boy would leave sooner rather than later.

"Anyway, sorry for dropping in on you like this but I couldn't leave McGonagall's office through the door," explained Naruto which earned him a curious look from the beast, "I didn't do anything to her office if that's what you're thinking. I was there for lessons to become an animagus. As to why I chose to leave through the window, well, that's a bit of a long story."

The beast just shook his head in surprise. Naruto was awfully young to be learning to become an animagus not to mention the fact that he chose to leave through the window. The beast just gave him a look that said to continue.

"Well, if you really want to know," said Naruto taking a seat next to the animal he now identified as some form of wolf. Naruto decided to absently scratch the beast behind the ear. "You see my cousin, the ever so famous always talked about constantly favored Harry Potter was waiting to ambush me outside her office. I've been avoiding him lately and if you couldn't tell from my little rant there, I am having a few issues right now with him. I guess if you really wanted to understand you'd have to know about how we grew up." And so Naruto spent the entire evening telling his story and past. It felt really good to get it all out in the open to someone, even if it was a giant wolf.

"So, this with me not talking to him really started when he found out I was taking extra lessons to learn to control the fox in me. You see, when I was a baby, my father sealed the Kyubi inside of me to protect the village. I think I already told you that . . . anyway, since I've come to the wizarding world some change have been happening to me and I'm becoming more in touch with the fox inside me. I guess I'm even part fox now. So, he got angry with me for taking extra lesson and not asking him if he wanted to take them, which I would have asked him, but he's always getting extra lessons from Anko-sensei. So now, not only is Harry famous in the world, but he is also getting personal training from Anko-sensei that I need just as much. It's not fair really. He's already way better at magic then me but then he also gets to learn all these kick ass moves from her too. I mean, I know I've things that I'm learning like the sealing techniques and stuff from my family scroll but I still need help with them. It just really pisses me and then when Harry and I finally have a blow out over this, Anko-sensei has the nerve to try and apologize for giving all of her attention to Harry and Shikamaru but then she doesn't offer a damn thing to help correct the situation. So you can see my problem." At some point during this rant Naruto had stood and began pacing angrily. He failed to notice the breaking dawn light or the fact that the wolf had changed.

"I can see the problem and understand your plight," said a mystery voice causing Naruto to spin around and see the new defense professor almost stark naked.

"Ah, pervert," shouted Naruto.

"Oh hush up boy, I'm not a pervert," said the man finding his robe and putting it on. "I happed to be a werewolf. That beast you spent your evening talking to was me."

"And who is you?" asked Naruto.

"Remus Lupin, but if you like you can call me Moony, for the whole werewolf thing."

"Really, cool," said Naruto with a slight grin.

"Cool?" the man asked, "Being a werewolf is anything but cool young man. Trust me."

"What's not cool about it?" asked Naruto, "You're stronger, faster, have better senses, and heal a hell of lot faster than a normal person."

"All true," said the man before his face turned darker, "But being a werewolf also means that I'm considered a dark creature by the Ministry of Magic, it is nearly impossible to find a job, and let us not forget that every month during the full moon I change into a mindless killing machine."

"And yet I'm still alive," said Naruto, "Why is that anyway?"

"The Wolf's Bane Potion allows me to keep my mind during the change," explained Remus, "And believe me, it is far better than it used to be. Still hurts like a son of bitch though and you never heard me say that. I am still a teacher."

"Hear what?" asked Naruto truly clueless.

"Exactly," said the man, "Anyway, can I count on you to keep my secret?"

"Of course," said Naruto, "As long as I can count on you to keep mine."

"I'd be happy to," said Remus, "It's nice to have someone to confide in. It's something I haven't had available to me in many years."

"Not many friends for people in our situations when they find out the truth are there?" asked Naruto solemnly.

"That may be so, however, there are those that can see beyond what makes you different to see who you really are. If you find those people never let them go without a fight."

"Precious people eh? Who are your precious people?" asked Naruto thoughtlessly.

"They've all died," said Remus morosely, "Voldemort took away a lot from us all."

"Ah, I understand," said Naruto understanding fully, "Harry will kill him eventually though. At least they will be avenged, it's the least we can do."

"I would hope that Harry never has to face such a thing," said Remus, "Voldemort has already taken too much from him."

"Yeah well, if that ugly snake ever shows his face Harry and I plan on taking a lot back from him," said Naruto with his eyes turning red for only an instant but Remus still caught it.

"Don't let the fox control your emotions Naruto," said Remus, "I know how great the beast within can be and how much it can play on your mind. Don't let it win."

"Never," said Naruto, "My emotions control the fox, not the other way around. I have very unique situation due to the seals."

"I hope that remains so," said Remus.

"Anyway, thanks for listening to me," said Naruto with a slight smile.

"You know, for as angry as you are with Harry, you seem to speak of him often," said Remus.

"He's the only family I got," said Naruto, "He's very important to me but that doesn't mean I can't be royally pissed off at him."

Remus chuckled, "No, that is very true indeed."

"Anyway, I'd best be off if I want to get any sleep before classes begin," said Naruto.

"I'll see you later today then," said Remus, "Oh, and Naruto, I would talk to Harry and work this problem out as soon as possible."

"I'll let him sweat a bit more," said Naruto with a grin before he vanished.


	11. Chapter 11

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

Anko had finally chosen to take a break from her studying. She had to cover nearly fifty volumes on potions in the next week before she would have to take the stupid Ministry test. She hadn't really slept since she found out and the problem with Naruto wasn't helping at all.

It just happened to be to her luck that Naruto emerged from one of the teacher's offices as she was coming down the same hall. He didn't notice her and continued on to where ever it was he was hiding so Anko just followed along silently.

Naruto stopped before a blank stretch of wall and paced in front of it a few times before a door appeared which he entered.

"Good, trapped," said Anko to herself as she entered the room after him.

The room was fairly simple. There was a sparring mat and a few tables set close to the ground surrounded by cushions. In one corner there was a single futon mattress which Naruto was lying upon.

Anko slammed the door behind her causing Naruto to sit up straight kunai in hand. "Good to see your reflexes haven't dulled brat."

"Great," mumbled Naruto, "Just leave me alone." He then fell back on the futon.

"Can't do that brat," said Anko, "I'm in the mood for a fight and everyone else is asleep so you're it."

"Yeah, well, I'm not in the mood for a fight," yelled Naruto sitting up again.

"Who ever said you have a choice?" asked Anko as she began her attack.

"You just don't get it," yelled Naruto as he began to fight back, "I don't want to fight."

Anko could feel that horrible chakra leaking forward from Naruto that she remembered from so many years ago. She knew he could do this but she'd never seen him do it before. Suddenly she found herself hard pressed to block his strikes, if he wasn't so sloppy he probably would have been able to beat her into the ground. As it was Anko capitalized on the sloppy technique and pounded every opening she saw. "Come on, you can't be this sloppy?"

"Maybe I wouldn't be if you spent just a minute amount of time working with me," said Naruto angrily as a single chakra tail began to from behind him. His eyes were now a dark crimson filled with rage and anger.

"Finally," said Anko with a grin, "A descent challenge." Anko's blood lust began to come out as she began getting small cuts on her arms, legs, and face from Naruto. They weren't bad, but it was enough to draw a bit of blood. She began fighting back just as seriously drawing blood from him only to see the wound close nearly instantly. It was then she began to use Jutsu in the fight.

Her use of Jutsu spurned Naruto to begin using Jutsu as well, but highly Kyubi-fied versions of them.

"So, the little fox child has a bit of fight in him after all," teased Anko riling him up even further causing a second tail of chakra to emerge from Naruto's back. "Oh my, is the little fox brat having trouble fighting little old me? I'm not even sweating yet."

Naruto was at this point becoming enraged.

Anko knew then that she couldn't push his anger any further or she would be risking the safety of the school. It was time to end it. She just happened to choose to end it by beating Naruto down. It was much to her chagrin when he kept getting up. "Why won't you stay down?" she asked as she delivered a particularly nasty double-hammer strike to his face driving him into the wall.

Naruto just got up and growled, "I'm going to get my damn one-on-one time even if it means you beating me senseless."

Anko was taken aback by this. Even after everything, he still wanted his own one-on-one time with her to learn. "You've got it then brat." Anko renewed her attacked with more energy and effort than before.

Naruto too fought back harder despite the fox's chakra retreating back inside the seal as he had reached his limit. He just kept fighting even though he had no energy left to fight back with.

Finally Naruto collapsed breathing heavily with nothing left to fight with.

"Not bad brat, you have plenty of strength and chakra but you're sloppy, you don't use your techniques for the right situations and you have one hell of a bad temper. We'll have to work on it next time," she said before sitting heavily on the floor breathing heavily herself. She felt very fortunate that Naruto was wearing the training weights or she probably would have been royally screwed, it was definitely time to up his weight requirements again. She would have stood again but the sparring mat was feeling quite comfortable at the moment as she drifted off into sleep.

**BREAK**

"Good morning Remus," greeted Albus Dumbledore as the weary professor entered his office.

"Morning sir," said Remus nervously. Ever since he went to school at Hogwarts he always felt guilty entering the professor's office, usually because he felt as if he'd done something wrong.

"No need to be so nervous, it's not as if you've done something wrong," said Albus with a twinkle in his eye.

"No, no, of course I haven't," said Remus racking his brain to remember if he'd done something wrong.

"Please have a seat," offered Dumbledore before holding out his favorite candy, "Lemon Drop?"

"No thank you sir," said Remus with a polite wave of the hand, "You wished to speak with me?"

"Indeed I did," said Albus, "Now as I understand it, you had a bit of a late night visitor."

Remus paled fearing the worst, "I didn't harm him, I swear it sir. He didn't tell anyone did he?"

"No, he hasn't told anyone nor was he harmed. I dare say that he is immune to your particular disorder due to his own special circumstances," said Dumbledore allaying he fears.

"You mean 'fuzzy'?" asked Remus slightly surprised, "From what Naruto said he had complete control."

"He does, but only to a certain point," said Albus, "If he uses too much of the magic from, how did you say it, 'fuzzy' then he risks becoming an even greater monster than you would be without your potion."

"Oh my," said Remus paling significantly, "Is he safe to be around other students?"

"Of course, there is only risk of him calling on such great power in the event that his life is in extreme danger or his friends are in such danger. If he goes beyond a certain point then he will become a danger to even them. As I understand it, he can control it but only to a certain point," explained Albus, "Anko-sensei has just begun to work with his control and how much of that power he can safely tap into. Professor McGonagall is teaching him to better understand the beast within by helping him to become an Animagus."

"So what do you want me to do?" asked Remus worriedly.

"Naruto will complete his Animagus training sometime before winter holiday. What I am going to ask you to do is absolutely terrible of me but I feel it absolutely necessary for Naruto to fully understand his power," said Albus gravely.

"Professor," said Remus stealing himself, "I will do what ever it takes. If Naruto needs this to be completely safe around Harry and his friends that I'll do my part no matter what it might cost me."

"You say that now, but wait until I tell you what I will ask of you," said Albus with a very heavy sigh. He took a sip of his tea which Remus caught a strong whiff of Fire Whiskey coming from. "Remus, I need for you to change without the potion in Naruto's presence. More than that, I need Naruto to understand fully what will happen if the beast within takes control. This is something that Naruto will have to face alone and it is not something I can help him with."

Remus remained deathly silent for a very long moment completely and utterly shocked. "Albus, I could kill him."

"I am more worried that he could kill you," said Albus, "If he were to tap into Kyubi too far to face you down in such a situation, I have no doubt that he could tear you limb from limb. I will do my best to explain to Naruto that under no circumstances should he do so during this test but I can make no guarantees what will happen once you are both in the heat of it."

"If he changes into his Animagus form he should be safe shouldn't he?" asked Remus.

"Remus, Kyubi is far an away the greatest Alpha male to ever roam the planet. Your pride a wolf would not allow that to stand unchallenged. You will attack Naruto without recourse if you have not your faculties about you," explained Albus taking yet another long draft of his tea.

"Then why not do this while I am under the affects of the potion?" asked Remus, "There has to be a better way."

"Remus, he must understand what happens when the beast is allowed to take control. He must see it happen to someone like him to fully grasp the repercussion of what could happen before he allows himself to sink to such a horrid state. I hate having to ask you to do this Remus, I truly, truly do. It is by far the hardest thing I have ever had to ask of another person. So I ask once more, will you do this for Naruto's sake?" Albus seemed to almost be pleading with the once student turned professor.

Remus took a shuddering breath before he finally nodded, "I'll do this for Naruto's sake. But I will tell you this, never ask anything of me again."

"Thank you Remus," said Albus with tears welling in his eyes, "I know this is a horrible deed I ask of you. But he must understand if he is ever to have a chance."

"I know that," said Remus before leaving the elder man behind. Suddenly Remus felt a greater burden then he could have ever imagined.

**BREAK**

The group was sullenly sitting at the breakfast table picking at their food. It had been three days since they had tried to ambush Naruto outside the professor's office and now they had seen neither hide nor hair of him even in his classes.

To make matters worse, Anko-sensei had disappeared as well with a note on her door saying that was to be left alone or else. That seemed to be enough to cause every student in the entire school to steer completely clear of her dungeon.

The only bright side of things for the friends was that the wizards were taking to walking on walls quite well once they figured out how to expel massive amounts of magic without their wands and then learn to concentrate it to their feet. Okay, so in truth it was a disaster but at least they had all manage to make a couple steps before falling back onto the heads and/or asses much to Harry's amusement.

"Naruto would have loved to watch you guys fall on your asses today," said Harry with a chuckle to himself.

"I probably would have," said a voice none of them expected to see or hear ever again.

"Naruto," shouted Harry before hugging his cousin in a very unmanly way, "I'm sorry Naruto, I shouldn't have been such an ass."

"You're right, you shouldn't have been such an ass. I'm still pissed at you but at least I'm willing to start talking to you again," said Naruto with a bit of a frown before he pried Harry off of him.

"We're glad to see you again Naruto," said Neville which was echoed by Ron who was now digging into his food with his old fervor, not that anyone truly understood what he said with his mouth so full but they got the idea.

"Boys," said Hermione with a shake of her head though it was clear she was happy given the tears in her eyes.

"Good, now maybe Harry will stop sulking so much," said Ginny a bit annoyed and uncharacteristic.

"Hey, I don't sulk," said Harry.

"Fine, then you brood," said Ginny before she grabbed up her books and left leaving behind an uneasy feeling.

"What's up with her?" asked Naruto.

"No one knows," said Hermione thoughtfully looking towards her rapidly retreating friend, "She keeps closing everyone off lately. And she's constantly writing in that dictionary of hers."

"Hmm, maybe the diary is evil or something," said Naruto earning several odd looks from his friends, "What? It could happen?"

At that they all chuckled and shook their heads at yet another of Naruto stupid ideas.

"So where have you been?" asked Harry, "We couldn't find you anywhere?"

"I was taking care of some things," said Naruto with a devious grin, "And I've decide not to share with you. You've got your things and now I've got some of my own."

"Hey, that's not fair," protested Harry.

"It's perfectly fair," said Naruto, "You don't have to know how to do everything I know. If you want to learn you can ask or learn it on your own. Just like I don't have to know everything you know. Let's just leave it at that and accept that from now on we'll be learning a lot of different things. The hard part is going to be learning to work together with our own styles. End of discussion and if you don't like it you can bring it up with Anko-sensei."

"You two are so troublesome," chimed in Shikamaru with an exaggerated yawn earning him a laugh from the group.

"Yeah, yeah, and you're lazy, what of it?" said Naruto earning another laugh to which Shikamaru didn't even react to.

"Fine Naruto," said Harry finally coming to a decision, "We will each have our own paths to follow. Let's just make sure we can always work together."

"Exactly," said Naruto before he dived into his food.

Soon things settled back into a normal routine. The wizards were working hard to learn to walk on walls and were meeting with limited success. However, Ginny seemed to pick it up rather easily due to her youth and rather surprising magical strength. Sadly though and much to Harry's disappointment, Ginny began to withdraw into herself more and more everyday.

"Alright, I'm done with you for tonight," said Anko with a yawn as she sent her Genin back to their rooms to sleep off the exhaustion they had earned working for her.

Outside the classroom Ron and Hermione were waiting for them. Neville had detention much to the surprise of all of them. And Ginny was off doing her own thing.

"_Rip . . . kill . . . tear,"_ hissed a voice through the halls.

"Oh no," said Harry recognizing the voice for what it was. He had spent enough time training with Anko to recognize Parseltongue instantly, "There is a snake on the loose and it wants to kill."

"What are you talking about Harry?" asked Hermione.

"I can hear a snake and it is hell bent on killing someone or something," said Harry chasing after the voice with his friends in toe. Naruto was following along prepared for anything.

The rounded the corner to see water spilling out of the girls bathroom and writing on the wall in blood as well as a cat hanging by its tail from the wall.

"Oh we are so getting blamed for this," said Naruto recognizing the cat as Mrs. Norris.

"Where is it?" asked Harry not letting up on his search for the snake.

Naruto approached the hanging cat and poked it a few times, "It's alive, but I think it has been petrified."

"What kind of snake petrifies?" asked Harry curious, "It must be magical."

"How do you know it's a snake?" asked Hermione.

"I'm a Parselmouth," said Harry studying the scene carefully completely ignoring Hermione and Ron's shocked expressions.

"You're a Parselmouth?" questioned Ron in disbelief.

"Oh, don't even start with that dark wizard bull shit," said Naruto noticing the look on the faces of Ron and Hermione, "You should know Harry well enough by now to know that he isn't a dark wizard in the slightest sense."

"But . . . but . . ." protested Ron not able to come up with a decent argument.

"See," said Naruto before he started helping Harry evaluate the scene.

"There's too much damn water," said Harry, "I can't see any slithering water marks to suggest which way it went."

"What if it's in the bathroom?" asked Naruto looking at the water source.

"Now wait, we don't know what it could be? You can't just rush in there," said Hermione, "We should get a teacher right away."

"As much as I hate to agree with Hermione, I'm going to have to this time," said Ron earning him a glare with a slightly appreciative smirk hidden underneath from Hermione.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded the commanding voice of Professor McGonagall as she rushed up the corridor.

"We were just coming to find a teacher," said Naruto in their defense. Truthfully he had no intention of doing that but it seemed convenient.

"Professor," interrupted Harry, "I heard a snake of some kind talking about killing. I followed the voice and it led us hear. Now, there is no water trail leading away from here so it is safe to assume that it is in that bathroom."

"What are you talking about boy?" asked McGonagall concern before she saw the writing on the wall, "Oh my goodness."

"Minerva, what has happened here?" asked the calming voice of Professor Dumbledore.

"The cat's petrified," said Naruto, "Harry thinks it was some kind of snake that did it."

Dumbledore studied the wall and the petrified cat for a moment, "And why do you think it's a snake?"

"I'm a Parselmouth sir," said Harry, "I recognized the voice instantly and followed it here. Like I told Professor McGonagall, there isn't a water trail leading away from here so I think it is in the bathroom here sir."

"To petrify this cat, it must be a magical snake of some manner or other," said Albus.

"That's what I thought," said Harry, "Do you know what it is?"

"I'm afraid I do not," said Albus with a sigh, "I think it would be best for now if we were to seal off this bathroom until we can do a bit more research into what is doing it."

"Yes sir," said Harry, "We'll head to the library then and start looking right away."

"I think I will join you," said Albus with a friendly smile.

"Albus," protested McGonagall, "How can you . . . why . . ."

"Minerva my dear, not to worry. If the chamber has been opened we now stand a much greater chance of slaying the beast than ever before. We know where the beast is hidden or at least we have an idea. We know it is some manner of snake or serpent. We will be fine." Albus then led the children towards the library.

"Sir, are you certain your seal will hold?" asked Naruto.

"Mr. Kazama, I do believe that the seal will hold in the short term," said Albus, "Now it is more important for us to discover the nature of the beast and deal with it."

Naruto nodded his acceptance of Dumbledore's decision.

Not long after they were all spread out in the library reading through texts of different serpents and snakes.

"What about this one?" asked Ron showing it to the professor, "Its poison paralyses the victim?"

Dumbledore looked at the offered text, "Possible, but I did not see any wounds on the Mrs. Norris."

Ron nodded sadly before he went back to work.

"Professor," shouted Hermione rushing over, "I think I've got it." She hand him a large tome.

"A basilisk," said Dumbledore studying the text, "Hmm, but Mrs. Norris is not dead my dear."

"Yes sir, but what if Mrs. Norris only saw the reflection of the eyes in the water?" asked Hermione, "And Hagrid was just complaining about something attacking the school roosters."

"If it is indeed a basilisk, then we are in much more danger than I thought. Let us keep looking for other possibilities for the moment. If we can come up with nothing by morning then we shall deal with it accordingly," explained Dumbledore gravely. He didn't like this in the slightest bit. Hours later they had found no alternative than a Basilisk to explain the attack.

"Very well," said Dumbledore closing yet another tome. He'd crossed references of basilisks in several different volumes and each one led him to believe more and more strongly that it was indeed the monster in question. "I shall go and take care of this. You children should return to your dorms immediately."

"Sir, you'll need me," protested Harry, "I'm a Parselmouth. I'll know when the monster is coming. Or you could always ask Anko-sensei. I'm sure she'd be happy to help with this. Of course if you did that she would, without a doubt, tell you stay away and allow Naruto, Shikamaru, myself, and her take care of the beast."

Dumbledore couldn't find any loop hole in his reasoning. He could use the help of someone with Parselmouth ability and he was also correct in the likely reaction of Anko. "Very well, but promise me you'll stay out of the way and allow me to handle things."

"I make no promises," said Harry, "You should know better than to ask something like that of me."

"Yeah old man," said Naruto, "You should stay out of our way and let us deal with it."

Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle at the pair while Ron and Hermione just looked on in the awe. "Boys, let us try working together on this then."

"Deal," said Naruto and Harry together with identical grins.

"You two will be the death of me yet," said Albus, "Very well, let us be off. Fawkes!"

There was a sudden burst of flame from which a beautiful red and gold bird emerged singing most beautifully.

"Hello old friend," said Albus, "You'll help us now won't you?"

The bird trilled once before dropping something from it's talons into Harry's hands, "What's this about?"

Albus recognized it instantly as the sorting hat, "Go on and put it on Harry."

Harry unfurled the object to reveal the sorting hat, "Hurry now boy, put me on." Harry put the hat on his head despite his confusion. "Ah I see, then it is time you have this." Harry felt a sharp thud on his head before he removed the hat and rubbed his new lump. He was quite surprise that upon removing the hat a sword fell out decorated in rubies with writing in Ancient Runes along the blade. Harry took the blade in hand to have the runes rearrange before his eyes into the name 'Godric Gryffindor'.

"Cool," said Harry marveling at the blade.

"Indeed," said Dumbledore somewhat surprised to see him pull such a fabled weapon from inside the sorting hat, "G, what is the meaning of this?"

"It was time the boy claimed his birthright," said the hat smugly, "Besides, I get the feeling he'll need it shortly, now boy, cut your hand on the blade and spread your blood along the runes."

Harry nodded before running the edge of the blade across his palm drawing blood easily. Harry then smeared the blood from his hand along the flat of the blade across the runes that he could easily read.

"Now repeat after me boy," said the hat with a sense of urgency, "As the heir of the Gryffindor line, I ask that you bind yourself to me and help me in my time of need."

Harry repeated the words and upon finishing the blade glowed white hot as it shifted and changed into something different. When the glow faded the blade remained with the same runes etched into the blade however it was now a good two inches shorter than before. The blade turned a dark black while the runes turned a dull gray. The hilt barely had but a slight oval head and the handle became bit thicker though the jewels all remained however now they seemed to suck in the light around them as did the all black blade.

"It's and ANBU sword," said Naruto looking at the blade, "Sweet."

"Yeah it is," said Harry with a slight grin as he played with the blade a bit in his hand, "I like it, I like it a lot."

"G, what have you done?" asked Albus in shock. He knew that Harry came from an ancient bloodline but the secret was protected so heavily that despite his efforts he was never able to get a full and complete genealogy of the Potter line.

"I gave him his birthright so that he can prepare for the future. Now, let me just remind all of you that this will remain absolutely secret. Harry, that blade is now small enough that you can easily keep it hidden from view. I would also advise that you have that teacher of yours teach you to properly use it. Now, if you don't mind, my peaceful nap has been interrupted." With that the hat settled into a peaceful snooze.

"Let's go," said Naruto excitedly as he dropped his cumbersome robe to the ground revealing his shinobi standard.

Harry followed suit before he noticed he needed something to sheath the blade, "Dumbledore do you mind?"

"Mind what?" asked Dumbledore still in a daze.

"I need a sheath and my transfiguration just isn't that good yet," said Harry with a slight grin seeing Dumbledore's stunned expression.

However the request did shake Dumbledore from his stupor. He aimed his wand at a chair and sent a red burst at it causing the chair to shatter. He chose a piece of the broken wood that was roughly that same length as the blade in Harry's hand.

"Just remember, stealth," said Harry as a reminder. He was slightly worried Dumbledore would make something gaudy.

Dumbledore nodded before taking aim at the wood in his hand. Within moments there was a simple black sheath in his hand which he handed to Harry.

Harry ripped some black strips from the discarded robe which he laced through the sheath. He quickly strapped the blade across his back with the handle aimed downward. "Right, let's move."

Naruto and Dumbledore nodded completely ignoring Ron and Hermione's still stunned expressions.

The three moved quickly towards the sealed bathroom followed by Ron and Hermione. Upon arrival they were greeted by Professor McGonagall, Professor Lupin, Neville Longbottom, Anko-sensei, and Shikamaru.

"What has happened?" asked Albus at seeing the others gathered there.

"Someone saw a giant snaked going up the outside wall of the castle carrying a student with it. They saw the snake enter through the bathroom window," explained McGonagall.

"Who was the student?" asked Albus.

"Ginny Weasley," said Minerva, "She looked dead sir."

"That was a mistake," said Harry venomously his eyes glowing green for a moment.

Albus looked to the phoenix that just landed on his shoulder, "Fawkes my old friend. Please go in and see if it is safe for us. Cry out twice if it is."

Fawkes trilled before lifting into the air and vanishing in a burst of flame.

"This is going to be troublesome," said Shikamaru with a yawn.

"Everyone, we are dealing with a Basilisk," said Dumbledore before he explained quickly what that meant exactly.

"Roger that," said Anko, "You all wait out here, Harry, you're on point once we get the all clear signal. Naruto, you follow Harry in and stick close. Shikamaru, you'll head up the rear. You're duty is to retrieve the kidnapped student." The phoenix trilled twice signaling the all clear, "Move out!"

Naruto moved to the door and made a few hand seals before touching the door instantly removing Dumbledore's seal much to the elderly man's surprise.

Harry moved through the door first, "Room secure."

Anko and Naruto followed in behind Shikamaru. In the center of the room the faucets were all separated showing a giant opening.

"Would you mind Fawkes?" asked Harry motioning to the hole. Fawkes swooped high into the air before diving down into the cavernous opening. Soon two trills followed signaling the all clear. Harry jumped in first followed by the others.

Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and McGonagall could only stare in awe before McGonagall finally snapped out of it. "Albus, aren't you going to follow them?"

"I don't think that will be necessary," said Albus, "I think at this point I would be more of hindrance than a help."

"Dumbledore sir?" question Ron, "What are they?"

"They are just very gifted Mr. Weasley," said Dumbledore hoping to pacify the boy for now.

"Sir, that's bull shit and you know it," said Ron, "What the hell are they that you would trust them so completely to save my sister's life?"

Dumbledore sighed, "Mr. Weasley, do you know of the forbidden continent?"

"No sir," said Ron.

"I've read about it," volunteered Hermione, "There isn't much known about it other than it being protected by very powerful illusionary wards. It's said that Demon's still roam the land freely there."

"Indeed, but that is the most you will ever hear of in any book within Hogwarts," said Dumbledore with a heavy sigh, "The truth of the matter is that it is a place of exile or it was for many hundred years. Long before Hogwarts was founded, we sent our criminal there for many years. We set them ashore and abandoned them. We did not know at the time that in doing so we would anger many of the ancient demons that lived their. Soon there was a war. Wizards fought and died trying to keep the demons contained to the continent. It was during this war that a new method of using magic was discovered in Japan. These wizards were known as Shinobi or Ninja. They were all exiled for their perversions of magic to this the forbidden continent because most of this magic they developed was used for thievery and assassination. Their only goal was to make money in any way possible. We were very lucky to exile them when we did or they may well have destroyed the world with their magic. However, as irony would have it, they were only ones capable of fighting back and beating the demons. They won the war for us against the demons and in doing so created an unparalleled amount of fear that they might strike at us next. The greatest and most powerful wizards of the time created wards so powerful that they were able to trap all who were on the continent, wizards and shinobi alike.

"Soon the wizards either turned to become shinobi or they were killed by the shinobi. Villages began to spring up full of shinobi. New spells were created and the villages became more and more distant from each other. An entire civilization developed from these shinobi. They constantly war and fight each other for more profit or a better reputation. We've been most fortunate for this for if they were ever to unite they could quite feasibly attack enforce and claim the mainland as their own. Their have been attempts to do so over the last several thousand years but no success.

"It is only in the last hundred years that the other wards that kept wizards and Shinobi separate have begun to fade. While the wards creating the illusion and keeping the demons on the continent have remained quite strong. As a result there have been a few shinobi that have ventured into the mainland. They had adapted to using muggle technology to improve their ability to war. Mostly devices for communication or spying, they are for the most part disgusted by guns and bombs for they have their own ways to do similar or far more damage. They have also adopted more of the muggle domestic technology, simple things like electricity, refrigeration, and movies.

"I'm sorry sir, but what does this have to do with Harry, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Anko-sensei?" asked Ron.

"Patience," chided Dumbledore, "Now, some years ago Harry's great aunt attended Hogwarts. She was a very adventurous spirit, a true Gryffindor if there ever was one. After her graduation she chose to explore the world. Her travels brought her to the forbidden continent. It was there she fell in love and married Naruto's Grandfather."

"You mean Naruto is one of them?" asked Ron in shock.

"As is Harry, Shikamaru and Anko-sensei," said Dumbledore, "Harry's mother made me promise that if anything ever happened to them that I would send Harry to be with Lily's cousin. At first I tried to beat the vow I made by leaving Harry with his cousin Dudley but alas the magic was smarter than I. Harry has been raise along side of Naruto on the forbidden continent. Now, I cannot stress enough how important it is that you all keep this secret."

"But sir, if these shinobi are so bad, why let them come here?" asked Neville curiously.

"I have asked the same thing myself many time Mr. Longbottom," said McGonagall.

Albus chuckled, "Neville, Harry and Naruto are good boys. They were raise to protect themselves and their friends. Should Voldemort ever return to power, I would rather Harry prepared as he is than left untrained and ill-equipped."

"Oh this is silly," said Hermione, "We know them. They are our friends and would never do anything to hurt anyone of us. Just because they were raised to be murderers doesn't necessarily mean they are murderers."

"Ms. Granger," said McGonagall sharply, "Don't be so certain of that." She gave Albus a slight glare. "Neither of them have qualms over killing a person. They have been trained almost since birth for it. However, you should know that they have, as odd as it seems, a very strict moral code. Mr. Kazama has explained to me that while they will assassinate a person, they will only do so if the person is deserving, usually crime lords, cruel feudal lords, or other shinobi that mean them harm. They will kill criminals without remorse or pleasure simply because it is their duty. And above all, they will kill anyone who would kill their precious people. Feel lucky, that all of you," she motioned to the three students, "are counted among those precious people."

Hermione paled slightly at the thought of it as did the others.

"I would ask that you don't treat them any differently than you do now," said Dumbledore calmly, "They consider you all their friends and would be greatly hurt if you decided that you did not wish to be their friends any longer because of where they come from."

"How can we not treat them differently?" asked Ron.

"Consider this Mr. Weasley," said Albus, "In all the time you have known the both of them they have been shinobi, they will always be shinobi. Have they ever given you reason in the past to fear them?"

"Well no but . . ."

"There is no 'but' Mr. Weasley," said Albus, "If that is not enough then consider this, they have my complete trust."

Ron's protests died with that. Admittedly it was going to be a bit weird for a while but he would eventually get used to it.

**BREAK**

The four shinobi landed lightly on a rather disturbing pile of bones.

"This place is going to be troublesome," said Shikamaru with a sign as he observed his surroundings. "It went that way," he said pointing to a tunnel to his left.

"Harry, you're on point with the bird," said Anko. At this point Anko decided that she would only engage if absolutely necessary. It was time to have a real test of her team's abilities in a combat situation.

Harry led the way to a large iron door with snakes covering the exterior, "Won't budge!"

"Try hissing at it," said Anko from the back.

"_Open_," stated Harry causing the snakes to come alive opening the door.

"Fawkes, you know the drill," said Harry with the team standing to either side of the door waiting to make sure it was safe to enter.

Fawkes trilled twice signaling it to be safe.

Naruto and Harry went through first, both eyes alert for any sign of movement.

"Secure the perimeter, Shikamaru, check the hostage," ordered Anko entering behind her team. Naruto and Harry both created a few clones to check the entire underground structure and cave system while the secured a watchful position around the unconscious Ginny and Shikamaru.

"She won't wake," said a voice walking out of the shadows drawing all of their attention and several kunai and shuriken thrown at him which soared harmlessly through his body, "Interesting. Ginny said that you were a bit unusual but using muggle weapons?"

"Who are you?" demanded Harry still observing his surroundings.

"A memory," said the shadowy figure that was becoming more solid by the moment, "Trapped in a diary and freed by a silly little girl."

"Hah," yelled Naruto, "I told you Ginny's diary was evil."

"Indeed I am quite evil," said the shadow, "I am Voldemort."

"You certainly don't look like much," said Harry studying him.

"This is me as a boy, back when I used the name Tom Marvolo Riddle. For the last three months that silly girl has been pouring a bit of herself into me everyday. I didn't plan to take her so soon. There was so much more havoc and chaos that I could have caused, but then when I was to return her body to her dorm I found the door sealed. I knew you were getting close. I tried to return her by using the outer walls but I was spotted and had to retreat back here to my sanctuary. The hidden place my ancestor the great Salazar Slytherin made."

"Huh?" said Harry scratching his chin, "I suppose that's appropriate. Heir of Slytherin versus the Heir of Gryffindor."

"Gryffindor has no heir, I made sure to kill the last known heir while I was still a student. To think that pathetic girl was one of the great magical heirs. Sadly though after her death I had to stop using the Basilisk lest I be caught before I could finish the great work of Salazar Slytherin," boast the shadow of Tom.

"Boy you talk a lot," said Naruto, "I realize you are just stalling for time but really. If all you dark lords talk so much it is no wonder you always lose."

"Silence you insolent fool," said the shadow before he turned to the giant stone carving and began hissing at it.

Anko began to hiss at the statue as well trying to counter act the boy. The mouth on the carving opened partially and closed again and opened a little only to close more.

Finally Tom turned to Anko, "Silence you horrid wretch. How dare you try to usurp my powers?"

"Shut up you noisy brat, Shikamaru, I've heard enough from this blowhard, finish it."

"So troublesome," said Shikamaru tossing the diary to Harry.

Harry quickly drew his sword and cleaved the diary in two with sword of Gryffindor.

Ginny instantly sat up breathing heavily, "What . . . what happened? Where am I?"

"Hey there Gin-Gin," said Naruto using her brothers' nickname for her, "Welcome back to us."

"What happened?" she asked again before seeing her diary cleaved in two and the sword in Harry's hand.

"The diary possessed you," said Anko before she turned to Shikamaru, "Get her out of here. We'll deal with the snake."

"You're all so troublesome," said Shikamaru before he lifted Ginny on to his back and ran out of the cavern.

Anko turned back to the carving, "You two, take up parallel positions on either side of the opening."

Naruto and Harry set themselves up on either side of the opening to lay in wait.

Anko gave the same opening commands that Tom gave. Once the mouth opened fully Anko hissed instructions, "_Come out with your eyes closed!_"

The serpent hissed once its disagreement but Anko re-iterated. Finally the serpent emerged rapidly putting as much distance as possible between that hole and itself.

"Its fast boys," said Anko surprised by how quickly the large serpent emerged and avoided Naruto and Harry's attacks, "Watch out now."

The serpent paused with its eyes closed before tasting the air several times, "_I taste the ilk of Manda, how is that foul bastard?_"

To say Anko was surprised would have been an understatement. No serpent anywhere, ever insulted Manda. It just wasn't done.

"_Why do you fail to show Manda respect?_" asked Anko curiously.

"_Pitiful snake he is. No serpent no matter how lowly would ever respect that bastard. We Serpents are honorable even though we are bound by the same laws that govern snakes when confronted by a speaker."_

"_Are you saying that Snake and Serpents are separate?"_ Anko asked highly surprised.

"_Of course we are you simpleton. Snake and Serpents have been at war with each other for many generations. It is sad that I will have to kill you for I can never allow an ally of the foul snakes to live whilst I still draw breath."_

"_Wait!" _shouted Anko with a plan forming in her mind. It might have finally been a way to end her connection to Orochimaru. "_I no longer ally myself with the foul snakes, especially after their betrayal of me."_

"_Hmmm, interesting," _said the giant serpent as it seemed to be pacing in thought, "_I have decided. I will test you. If you can look into my eyes without dieing then you pass."_ The serpent lowered itself to within inches of Anko's face, "_Do you accept?"_

"_I do," _said Anko looking at the serpent unflinchingly.

Slowly the yellow eyes opened and locked with Anko's eyes. Time seemed to stand still for moments waiting to see if she would live or die.

"_You have passed." _Hissed the serpent sounding very pleased to Harry and Anko while Naruto was just confused, "_You may leave here alive."_

It was then the serpent locked eyes with Naruto and the world erupted in a brilliant red flames of chakra, "**No, this discussion has not ended."**

"_Kyubi-sama," _hissed the serpent bowing deeply and lowering its eyes.

"**Finally someone who knows how to show me proper respect. Rise honorable serpent and friend in the war against the most foul snakes."**

The serpent slowly rose up to its normal stature when addressing any being, "_What do you wish of me lord Kyubi? How might a humble serpent such as myself serve you?"_

"**Do you still have the ability to reach the other place?"**

The serpent seemed shocked by such a question, "_My lord, it has been many millennia since I have made such a journey, but I do still possess the ability."_

"**Then let us eliminate this ally to the dirty snakes once and for all," **Kyubi using Naruto's body said diabolically making both Harry and Anko nervous, "**Call forth the Serpent Contract. Let us make allies of them both and be done with it."**

"_As you command it shall be done my lord," _hissed the serpent before it stared off into open air. Soon the air seemed to waiver where the serpent was staring and then there was a loud pop and a puff of smoke causing a large scroll to drop from the sky.

"**Now, both of you will sign in blood. You will relearn all your _Snake_ skills using the honorable Serpents, until then, do not dare summon one of the honorable Serpents. You will not disgrace me for this honor I have bestowed you both. And now for you honorable Serpent, I appoint you as the new scroll guardian. You may allow any to sign that you deem worthy."**

The Serpent bowed deeply once again in respect and gratitude to the Kyubi.

Anko and Harry were quite surprised.

"**Hurry and sign," **barked the Kyubi to Harry and Anko shaking them from their stupor.

Anko was very quick to obey, anything to further herself from that wretch Orochimaru. Harry was a bit more hesitant to trust the stupid fox but complied after Anko glared at him in a way that clearly said to hurry his ass up.

With scroll signed and rolled up the Serpent swallowed it whole.

"**Now be gone and do not return unless summoned,"** ordered Kyubi with a wave of Naruto's hand. The serpent did exactly as ordered and vanished in a large puff of smoke.

Naruto's eyes suddenly turned back to their normal blue, "Hey, what just happened?"

"Kyubi," said Anko with a very pleased smile.

"But I didn't use his chakra at all," said Naruto confused.

"It seems as if Kyubi can take control sometimes without you over taping into his chakra," said Anko, "Do not worry, you have done no harm nor caused any damage."

"So what the hell happened to the snake?" asked Naruto curious now that he noticed it was missing.

"Kyubi," Anko answered as if there was no other way to explain it, "And don't call it a snake, it was a Serpent."

"Okay," said Naruto, "I fail to see the difference."

"There just is," said Anko not too sure of the difference herself but she made a mental note to ask a serpent about it later.

"Can we go already, this place is giving me the creeps," said Harry with a shiver.

"Not just yet, we need to inspect this place first. Then Naruto can properly seal this place away so no one can ever again open it.

**BREAK**

Dumbledore was quite relieved when Shikamaru re-emerged with Ginny on his back and in seemingly perfect health. However, despite everything he'd seen these shinobi do, it always surprised him to see the some of the physical feats they accomplished.

"This was too troublesome," said Shikamaru as she let Ginny down off his back, "Do us all a favor, don't write in any more evil diaries. It's bad enough we'll have to hear about this from Naruto for rest of the year."

Ginny at least had the decency to blush and stammer out an apology.

"Where are the others?" asked Dumbledore curiously.

"Dealing with the snake I guess, I don't know," said Shikamaru with a yawn before he pulled out the remains of the diary and tossed it to Dumbledore, "That thing was possessing her."

Dumbledore examined the Diary and took note of the name embossed on the back of it, "I see, are you alright then Ms. Weasley?"

"Fine sir," said Ginny on the verge of tears.

"Good, your brother is quite worried for you. He is waiting out in the hall with Ms. Granger and Mr. Longbottom. They will escort you to the Hospital wing."

"Am I to be expelled?" asked Ginny worriedly.

"Of course not," said Dumbledore with a kind smile, "You had no way of knowing what this diary was. Believe me when I say that people more intelligent than yourself have been fooled by Voldemort in the past."

"Thank you sir," said Ginny before she hurried into the hall to meet her friends.

Ginny was greeted by her friends including a big hug from Ron, "Thank goodness you're alright."

"I'm so sorry," cried Ginny, "I've been so mean and I could have hurt you and I'm just so sorry."

The group spent quite a bit of time comforting her. They were just thankful that she was safe and never had the chance to hurt anyone other than Mrs. Norris the cat.

Dumbledore emerged sometime later with the Shinobi in tow. "Why don't you all take the day for yourselves? I will send notes to the teachers explaining to them that you will be absent."

"Thanks old man," said Naruto with a grin and a wave as he started off down the hall.

"See ya," said Harry with a matching grin.

"Off with you now," said McGonagall ushering the students to move along.

"Now then old timer," said Anko, "There is still the matter of our fee."

"Fee?" asked Albus highly confused.

"This particular mission fell outside of the parameters set in our contract. Our account must be settled," said Anko with a grin, "Besides, they've definitely earned it."

"I suppose they have," said Albus with a slight smile, "Let us go to my office and discuss it then shall we?"

**BREAK**

"So, you're really ninja?" asked Neville causing the three shinobi to freeze in their tracks.

"Who told you?" said Naruto with a pout.

"Dumbledore told us," said Ron, "It's a bit . . . um . . . scary."

"Ronald," chided Hermione.

"It's alright," said Harry, "We have a dark profession. But keep in mind, we're still us."

"You're a ninja?" asked Ginny in surprise, "Is that why Shikamaru could jump like that?"

"Jump like what?" asked Ron, "What did he do to you?"

"He saved me you dolt," said Ginny punching him in the arm, "On the way out of the chamber he was jumping off of walls like they were nothing. It was . . . wicked."

"So troublesome," said Shikamaru with yawn, "Following orders just isn't for me."

"Lazy ass," mumbled Hermione before she perked up, "Well I find it fascinating. You must have lived such hard lives."

"Not so much," said Shikamaru, "We have parents just like you do that care for us and what not. Naruto and Harry have always had the old man Hokage around for them. Though I don't think Naruto . . ." but he was cut off by a sharp look from Naruto.

"Anyway, you should worry about that," said Naruto continuing the conversation. "Our skills are here to protect you and everyone else in this school from Voldemort. That's what we were hired for and that is what we'll do."

"What do you mean hired?" asked Neville curiously.

"Dumbledore hired us to protect the school. But he also gave us the opportunity to learn while we were here. It also happens that we have made some great friends here too. Once the threat of Voldemort has been permanently eliminated our mission will end and we will return to our lives," said Naruto simply.

"But you're just kids," said Hermione in surprise, "How can you be hired to do something like that?"

"In our village, we are considered full adults," explained Harry as they all continued walking towards the common room, "Anyway, I have a more important question. Are you really okay Ginny?"

Ginny was caught by surprise, "Why do you care? I was so mean to you."

"Nah, you weren't mean to me, Tom Riddle was," said Harry, "And besides, you're kind of cute."

Ginny blushed furiously, "I'm okay I guess. I'm just glad that no one was hurt."

"Try telling that to Mr. Filch," said Ron with a grin, "You should have seen his face when he found out his cat was petrified.


	12. Chapter 12

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

Things slowly returned to normal for the friends. Ron eventually came around to the idea of Naruto, Harry, and Shikamaru being shinobi, especially after he got to see one of their real training sessions with Anko-sensei. Ginny had opened up a lot more to them now that she wasn't in possession of an evil diary or rather being possessed by and evil diary. She especially opened up to Harry a lot more much to his pleasure.

Anko and Harry were busier than ever with their one on one session but it was mostly training for both of them to become familiar with the serpents as opposed to snakes. Truth was that there was no real difference between them. The serpent broke away from the snake when they came to a moral crossroads of sorts. Apparently the entire argue began when two, then snakes, argued over weather or not to eat a rabbit that had help them. The one that became a snake ate the rabbit after killing the First Serpent. It was rather silly but the Serpents spoke of it with such great reverence. In any event, several of the most powerful of the Snakes declared themselves Serpents and joined the Foxes in their war against the Snakes. Their were fewer Serpents than Snakes but the serpents were in general much more powerful with the exception of Manda who was still the most powerful. Still Ragnarok, a fire Serpent could hold his own against Manda according to the few Serpents that Harry and Anko had summoned.

Naruto in the mean while was busy enough on his own. Anko didn't spend as much time with Naruto but it was enough to help him polish his moves and develop better strategies for the use of his Jutsu. The majority of his time was buried in the sealing scrolls and his family scroll mastering the techniques there in. The rest of his time was spent working on his Animagus transformation. In fact, he was on his way to his final lesson now. Today was the day he would finally get to do a complete transformation.

"Yo," said Naruto with a grin as he entered McGonagall's office. Then he noticed the big cage in the room and the presence of Dumbledore, Hagrid and Lupin. "What's all this about?"

"Naruto, we felt that it may be best to have a little extra help on hand while you attempt this. It is very easy to lose yourself in your first transformation. That is why you will transform inside the cage, for our protection," explained McGonagall with face that brooked no room for argument.

"Cool," said Naruto stepping into the cage closing it behind him. He didn't mind their decision to be extra cautious. In truth he was very thankful for the extra safety measures. There was no certainty as to what would happen.

"You may change when ready. Just remember, you must surrender your body to the change or it will be incomplete. Keep thinking, I am a fox," instructed McGonagall.

I am a fox, thought Naruto repeatedly let his body change with that feeling when suddenly everything felt wrong and he screamed out in pain, "Aaaaaaahhhh!"

"Just keep going Naruto, I know it hurts," said McGonagall in concern. She knew the pain of the first transformation was always the most terrible even with her exercises to prepare the body.

The professors looked on with great concern when Naruto began to expand instead of shrink into a smaller fox form as red fur began to sprout up around his body and the clothing began to vanish as part of the magic. The muscled across his now nearly bare body began to bulge and then tighten rippling with power and strength.

Naruto reflexively curled in on himself as the bones popped and cracked as they shifted into a new position. He face elongated as the fangs in his mouth sharpened and threatened to cut their way free from his now bleeding gums.

Naruto screams of pain soon changed into horrible growling and groaning pain.

The professors could only watch as Naruto's body continued to change and grow until he was nearly as tall as a man from the top of his head to the floor. His fur was now blood red with black accents around his eyes and the tips of his ears. There was the occasional blond hair peppering his body.

Finally the change ended with the emergence of nine long tails. The growling finally stopped and Naruto sat on his haunches with his eyes closed and his nine tails spread out behind him breathing heavily. Finally he opened his eyes. The beautiful cerulean blue shined through showing no sense of Kyubi anywhere save the obvious bodily changes.

"**That hurt like a son of a bitch," **Naruto spoke clearly much to the shock of the professors and somewhat to their worry, "**What? What's with the looks?"** He cocked his head to the side curiously not paying attention to the fact that he was scratching the back of his head with his hind leg.

"Naruto," said Dumbledore, "You're able to talk."

"**Yeah, so, that's nothing new," **said Naruto dumbly.

Dumbledore chuckled before conjuring a rather large mirror in front of the cage.

"**Holy shit! I'm huge and what the hell, I have nine tails?"**

"Indeed Naruto," said Dumbledore, "How do you feel?"

"**Well, I still ache a bit but mostly I just feel . . . I dunno . . . powerful."**

"I would expect so," said Dumbledore with a kind smile, "I'm sorry to do this but I have to ask that you change back into yourself so that I can be certain that you are in fact Naruto."

"**Is it gonna hurt?"** he asked looking to McGonagall.

"Not nearly as much as changing did," said McGonagall thoughtful for her student and at the same time concerned.

"Just close your eyes and concentrate on being Naruto once again," instructed Dumbledore. He would most thankful to know for certain that everything was safe.

Naruto closed his eyes and almost instantly began to shrink and change back into a human boy of twelve years old. "You're right, it didn't hurt as much. That was bad ass. Can I try it again?"

"Not just yet Naruto," said Dumbledore opening the cage and letting Naruto out, "With your permission I would like to conduct a few tests."

"Go for it," said Naruto with a grin. At this point he'd do just about anything to feel that again.

Dumbledore cast a few different spells to ensure that the seal was still holding. He was much surprised to see the seal was both weakened and strengthened at the same time. For reasons he couldn't understand the seal was allowing the demonic magic to mix more freely within him but it was also siphoning off a considerable amount of the negative energy that was common place in such magical energy.

"I think you are quite well Naruto. It seems that this change has had some very surprising benefits. I think if would be safe to try to change again, however, I would have to insist that you do so within the cage at least one more time so that I can perform just a few more tests," ordered Dumbledore kindly but strictly.

"Sweet," said Naruto jumping into the cage. He didn't even wait for the door to finish locking as he began to shift. There was almost no pain this time as he changed and the change came on much faster this time.

"I ain't seen nothin' so beau'iful in me entire life," said Hagrid wiping a tear from his eye, "To think I'd actually have the honor to see a tailed beast."

"Hagrid, Naruto is not one of your pets," said Lupin jokingly, "Though I think we could find him a nice collar, what do you think?"

"We'll name him Fluffy the Second," said Hagrid, "Or better yet, Snuffles."

"**Over my dead body," **said Naruto with a glare, "**if you must name me it has to be something that instills fear and terror to those who hear it. _Snuffles _will not due at all. It's got to be something grand . . . like Spike . . . or Killer . . . or maybe Death Reaper, yeah, I like that one."**

"Well, at least he hasn't lost his sense of humor," said Remus with a chuckle, "But I will definitely have to come up with a name worthy of a true Marauder."

"Oh no you don't," said Minerva, "Don't you even think about putting any ideas in his head or Harry's. You and your friends were enough trouble as it was. I won't have a second coming of the Marauders in this school."

"**You were a prankster and you never told me?"** questioned Naruto ignoring Dumbledore's poking and prodding, "**I feel so . . . betrayed."**

"Oh come now Minnie, you know you loved some of our pranks on good old Sluggy," said Remus with a mischievous smile.

"Let us not discuss this in front of such an impressionable youth," said Minerva trying to end it before Naruto got any ideas.

"Minerva, some of things I've seen Naruto and his friends pull off would easily put anything the Marauders ever did to shame," said Remus with a laugh.

"**I don't know what you're talking about," **Said Naruto acting dumb, "**We've never done anything to warrant such an accusation."**

Remus and Minerva both gave Naruto a pointed look.

"Mr. Kazama, I realize that we have never been able to catch but don't think for even a second that we don't know exactly what you and your friends have done," said Minerva rather severely.

"As much as I have enjoyed the banter," interrupted Dumbledore, "I do believe it is safe for Mr. Kazama to stretch his legs for a bit." With that the cage door swung open.

Naruto finally had a chance to test out this new body. He managed about two steps before his claws got in the way and he slipped and fell on his face, "**Ouch."**

"It might take you a while to get used to moving in that body," said Minerva, "I would suggest you change back for now and head outside and into the forest to test yourself."

"Can I really?" asked Naruto already back into human form bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet.

"Just leave the centaurs alone and avoid the spiders nest," said Hagrid defensive of his forest friends.

"Yahoo," shouted Naruto before he jumped out the window and sprinted down the castle wall into the open land that surrounded the castle.

"I hate when he does that," said McGonagall with a slight from, "Gives me a heart attack every time."

"Remus, would you mind patrolling the forest this evening to make sure there is nothing to bother the students?" requested Dumbledore though it was anything but a request.

With Remus gone and Hagrid following chattering his ear off about the tailed beast legends.

"Now Albus, would you mind explaining to me exactly what Mr. Kazama is?" Minerva ordered rather severely after sealing her door way.

Albus smiled before settling into a plushy armchair he'd just conjured up. "You may wish to sit," said Dumbledore conjuring another for her.

Minerva sat but never loss the serious look on her face, "Explain."

"Naruto has told you that he is part fox, correct?"

Minerva nodded.

"The truth is a bit more complicated," said Albus with a heavy sigh, "You know of the situation that surrounds the Forbidden Continent? It would seem that the people there have a developed a kind of final solution to the demons that roam free. They have found a way to seal the demons within human bodies. Mr. Kazama has had the both the great fortune and horrible misfortune of being used to seal away the Kyubi. When Mr. Kazama first arrived in the wizarding world, he had an unusual reaction to his wand causing him to form a kind of bond between himself and the fox sealed within."

"Is that safe?" asked Minerva concerned for the welfare of the students.

"It is both safe and dangerous. Naruto is learning to control himself while under the influence of heavy amounts of the Kyubi's chakra. I believe that his most recent change into an Animagus of the beast sealed within will strengthen the connection between them allowing Naruto to tap into more of the Kyubi's power without losing himself to it. There are things in the works now Minerva," said Albus, "things that I cannot reveal just yet but I will say this. Naruto and Harry are the key to victory should war come upon us once more."

"Albus," said Minerva, "I've always trusted you despite some of the more foolish things you've done. I will trust you in this but please ensure that Naruto and Harry never endanger the students by getting our world entangled with theirs too deeply."

"I am doing everything in my power to try to avoid that. I feel that we are coming close to reaching a peace of sorts that we've never had with their kind. But I will admit that this could backfire if not done in the most careful of manners. Again I say that those boys are the key."

"I do hope you know what you doing this time. I've known you to take risks in the past but never have you ever tread upon such thin ice," said Minerva before leaving her office for her private quarters.

She never heard Albus say, "I hope I know what I am doing as well."

**BREAK**

"Come on brat, parry," shouted Anko as she drilled Harry yet again on his blade forms. If was going to use as sword, she'd be damned if he wasn't going to use it right. "Good, now thrust!"

Harry lunged forward breathing heavily. He'd been drilling on this for the last two hours. To make matters worse Anko slapped half a dozen weight tags on his blade to make it heavier. Every time he tried to support it with his free hand he was met with a sharp jab to the nerve cluster that went from his arm to his spinal column causing pain to shoot through it unbearably for a few minutes.

"Good," said Anko, "Now switch to the other arm and let's begin again."

Harry wanted to groan but he was too tired to really complain about it.

Anko continued to drill him for another three hours on his sword form and even taught him a few Kenjutsu techniques that used copious amounts of chakra.

"You're doing better brat," said Anko, "I hope you are ready to start mixing in sword play into our Taijutsu training."

"Isn't that what we're doing now?" asked Harry breathing heavily just trying to stay standing.

Anko laughed her standard sadistic laugh, "Of course not dumb ass, I'm just teaching you the basic movements. Once you've gotten a decent grasp of it we'll start integrating it into your Taijutsu. Until that time you will drill the movements into your head until they become completely natural. Got it?"

"Yeah," said Harry with a heavy sigh. He was half tempted to use Shikamaru's catch phrase but decided against it after seeing the glare Anko was leveling at him.

"Good, now get out of here," said Anko, "It's time for Shikamaru's training session."

Harry dragged himself out of her dungeon more than happy to get away although by the look on his face you wouldn't think so.

Harry passed Shikamaru in the hall, "Good luck today, she's in one of those moods."

"So troublesome," said Shikamaru understanding what 'one of those days' meant.

"Yeah, but it'd be more troublesome if you missed," said Harry with a slight grin playing at the corners of his mouth. He was finally getting his sixth wind.

Shikamaru tried not to grin much as he continued on to his own lesson.

Harry continued his wandering not paying too much attention which wasn't really smart for a shinobi when he was ambushed by a pair of small hands blinding him.

"Guess who?" asked a sweet voice.

"Umm. . . Hermione," said Harry with a grin.

"No, guess again," she said playfully.

"Not Hermione, well then it must be . . . Lavender," said Harry earning him a punch on the arm. He laughed despite that as he turned to see a pouting Ginny, "Awe, I was just teasing. I knew it was you all along."

"Yeah, sure you did," said Ginny unhappily, "You just feel guilty for not recognizing me."

"I swear, I was just teasing," said Harry with a grin, "I would know have known you even without hearing your voice."

"Oh and how would you know that?" asked Ginny in mock anger.

"You smell," said Harry with a grin earning him another punch on the harm but much harder this time.

Ginny looked supremely angry with him for that comment and was about to storm off until Harry gently took her arm and pulled her close into a hug.

"I know your smell," explained Harry inhaling deeply, "Your shampoo is vanilla and cinnamon. Your skin smells of lilies from your lotion. It is most intoxicating. I like the way you smell."

Ginny was already blushing from being held so closely by Harry but then he described her smell and how much he liked her smell. She nearly fainted then but instead decided to breathe him in the way he did and nearly gagged.

"You stink," said Ginny pushing him away sharply completely forgetting her blush.

Harry sniffed his shirt, "Huh, I guess I do. Sorry about that. I didn't think about how I smelled or about how sweaty I am."

"Yuck," said Ginny noticing the drying sweat spots on her own shirt from where he held her close, "Boys are so disgusting." With that she stormed away complaining the entire time about boys' bad habits and their stink.

"That didn't exactly go according to plan," said Harry to the empty hall.

**BREAK**

Naruto could be found hunting through the forest nearly everyday for a month getting used to his fox body and the abilities being a nine tailed fox afforded him. Kyubi even gave him some lesson and training into using his new body.

But the most amazing thing was listening to the voice. She wouldn't speak often and when she did it was often just some reassurance. However, there were those times when her voice guided him away from danger or troublesome situations.

Time passed quickly anymore. Classes were fast paced and training was even faster. Naruto was about half way through the second scroll of sealing his father left behind and he was picking up momentum with it everyday as his understanding of the subject became deeper and deeper. Naruto had learned nearly every technique on the Kazama clan scroll though he was far from mastering all the techniques. Kyubi still taught him some techniques but they were all easily Jounin level or higher techniques. And he did quite well with those thanks to his nearly limitless chakra stores. His Taijutsu had grown to a level of matching Harry's with or with the sword thanks to Anko's decision to work with him more to polish his techniques. His ability to use Shunshin had grown exponentially. He never had to use hand seals anymore or even really think about using it, he just did it. Otherwise most of his training revolved around improving his chakra control now that he once again had an abundance of Kyubi's chakra flowing through him regularly.

Naruto was still a horrible wizard in most aspects. He did superbly in transfiguration thanks to his Animagus training. He just had a better understanding of the subject than most of the other students when actually working the magic, but his papers were still awful. He did well in defense and charms because they both readily applied to him. Half of the pranks he pulled would never have happened if it weren't for Charms. His potions class was passable only because Anko made a very big point of it as it was her class. Sadly, he pretty well stunk at everything else.

Harry was excelling in all of the classes. He was simply made to be a wizard inside and out. That didn't mean he wasn't an excellent ninja but he was by far a better wizard. Anko was pretty well stuck on what she could teach him at this point for the simple fact that he didn't have enough chakra for any of the big techniques that she knew. At this point most of his training revolved around his improvement of his Taijutsu technique and his chakra capacity.

Soon enough was once again Christmas break and Naruto, Harry, and Shikamaru were stuck in the castle with Anko-sensei for more training.

"Ah, there you are Naruto," said Dumbledore with a friendly smile, "May I have a word with you in my office?"

"Sure old timer, what's up?" asked Naruto.

"In my office if you please," said Dumbledore leading Naruto through the halls to his office.

Naruto followed along silently. It was odd behavior for him but then he also sensed that something was amiss with Dumbledore.

"Please have a seat," said Dumbledore gesturing to one of his chairs before he seated himself behind his desk.

"So what's going on?" asked Naruto a bit more seriously and highly suspicious of the old man.

"Naruto, as I understand it you have been training to tap into Kyubi's powers, yes?"

Naruto nodded. He was getting a really bad feeling about this.

"Have you ever lost complete control of his powers?"

"No sir, I wouldn't do that," said Naruto fiercely.

"Naruto, no need to be so defensive. You can be completely honest with me and I won't judge you for it," said Dumbledore, "Have you ever felt yourself coming close to losing control while under the influence of his chakra? Perhaps and extreme blood lust?"

Naruto didn't want to answer that question. He wanted to act as if it had never been asked and just move on with his life. But he knew he wouldn't be able to. "There have been a few times that Kyubi has had control but I was never tapping into his chakra then."

"I know, I have been witness to such an occasion if you remember the Snape incident. No, I'm talking about you using such a large amount of his chakra that you . . . for lack of a better word 'rage' until you lose consciousness," elaborated Dumbledore seriously.

"I think I've come close. Sometimes when I'm training with Anko-sensei, she'll push me to tap into more of his energy. She always stops pushing me when I get close to the edge. Even then things get a bit blurry, like I can remember, I just can't remember choosing to do the things I did. I think once I tap into more than a certain amount of energy I start to act entirely on instinct. But Anko-sensei has always said that I should remember the feeling I get when I'm coming close to the edge so that I never cross it."

"And that is very good Naruto. I'm proud of you for growing so strong and being able to recognize your limits. However, this does leave me greatly concerned. Have you considered what would happen if you chose to ignore those boundaries? To let the Kyubi's anger and blood lust control you so completely you forget yourself entirely?"

Naruto paled at the thought of it, "I would never do that. I'm not that foolish."

"Naruto, I do not believe you are foolish in the slightest," said Dumbledore seriously, "But I want you to learn something new. I want you to see what it looks like when you lose complete and total control."

"You want me to push myself that far?" asked Naruto.

"No my boy," said Dumbledore, "I have another way, one that will put you into the gravest of dangers. I do not wish to do this Naruto but you must see what could happen. What you could become if you don't fully understand the consequences of your actions."

Naruto felt ill. He didn't like this in the slightest but he also understood Dumbledore's reasoning.

"Now, come with me, it is almost time to begin," said Dumbledore severely after looking out the window at the setting sun.

Naruto followed along silently in deep reflection. They traveled out across the lawn to the Whomping Willow, which Dumbledore froze in place. He then led him into a secret passage eventually emerging in a broken down cottage.

"Evening Professor," said Remus with only a towel wrapped around his waste.

"Good evening Remus," said Dumbledore.

"Hey Moony, what's going on?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto," said Remus looking at him seriously, "We don't have much time for me to explain so please be silent and listen carefully."

Dumbledore then quickly shuffled out of the house but not without sealing the entrance to the cottage.

"You know that I am a werewolf yes?"

Naruto nodded.

"Normally I take a potion before the full moon that allows me to keep my mind and completely suppress the beast. At Dumbledore's request, I have not done so this evening. Once the transformation begins I will become a mindless killing machine, just like the Kyubi was. I won't care who you are or what you look like. I will do everything in my power to destroy you, end of story. Now, your animagus form will protect you from becoming infected with Lycanthropy. However, it will not protect you from the beasts need to establish dominance as the Alpha male. I will attack you without remorse and I might even kill you. You must defend yourself from me at all cost, even if you have to kill me to do so, but I would prefer you just defend yourself from me. Do you have any questions?"

"Why? Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends," pleaded Naruto. He didn't want to hurt Remus. He really liked the man.

"You must completely and totally understand what could happen if you ever let the anger and bloodlust take control. I know Kyubi seems kind to you but you cannot change his nature. He is a demon with his own agenda to serve. He has lived thousands of years and will continue to do so until you die. He has plenty of patience and would think nothing of lulling you into a false sense of security if there were even the slightest chance of escape. Even if he it so completely attached to you, you've felt him take control. He could find a way to take permanent control. You need to know your breaking point and limits and you must know above all the consequences." Remus finished his last few words clutching at himself straining to stop the pain.

Naruto saw the changes beginning and changed into his Animagus form. He could only watch as Remus' joints popped and cracked painfully as he shifted his body. The sound of bones snapping echoed loudly through the empty house as Remus howled in horrible pain. It was agonizing to watch.

Finally the change stopped. Naruto could smell it in the air. It was the scent of animal that was clearly leader of the pack and would try until death to remain so.

The wolf locked eyes with Naruto and snarled angrily.

Naruto took a few steps back hoping that Remus wouldn't attach, that it was all just a horrible joke.

But then Remus struck . . . hard. Naruto was hit bodily across the side of his head and send sliding across the splintered flooring. Naruto barely looked up in time to see the wolf attack again this time going for his throat. Naruto reacted quickly and knocked the wolf away with his tails sending the beast sprawling. Unfortunately it didn't stay down for long.

The wolf rolled over and snarled at Naruto before darting off to the side the running up the walls. Its claws keeping it attached were tearing out pieces of masonry as it moved. Finally the wolf leapt rotating in air with its front claws drawn to strike.

Naruto timed the landing just right and leapt backwards out of the attack path. Naruto was then surprised to see the calculating look in the wolf's eyes. It barely hit ground before sprang forward driving it's bony shoulder into his chest knocking the wind out of him and sending him tumbling end of end in whirlwind of pain.

The wolf howled with pride and honor at its obvious superiority. It believed Naruto was now at its mercy.

Naruto was surprised. He expected to fight a mindless beast. This wolf was anything but mindless. It was intelligent and calculating in its moves. It used strategy and planned it next attack ahead of time. It was filled with anger and rage unlike anything Naruto had ever encountered except from one place, Kyubi. Naruto looked at the wolf before him and he stopped seeing the wolf and for an instant saw the Kyubi staring back at him. Those same calculating eyes filled with anger, hatred, and something much worse, bloodlust. Naruto had never felt such fear before. Not fear of the wolf but fear of himself becoming that way without having any power to stop himself.

"**NO!"** shouted Naruto standing stall and staring down the wolf. He wasn't going to ever let himself become like that. He was going to fight that part of himself with all he had.

The wolf seemed to grin at the thought of the fight continuing. It watched with interest as the fox before it lowered itself closer to the ground, its teeth bared and tails waving angrily behind. Things were about to get interesting indeed.

Both animals howled angrily in challenge before they charged each other. Claws and fangs snapped and scratched at each other just waiting for the perfect opening to claim their victory.

Naruto rolled away from a particularly dangerous swipe and then sprung forward trying for the wolf's jugular only to get clubbed in the head spinning him around. Naruto kicked his hind legs out catching the wolf in the chest lifting it off its feet. Once in the air Naruto's tails wrapped around the beast and threw it hard. The wolf crashed through several pieces of already damaged furniture and through one of the already badly damaged walls.

Naruto heard a slight whimper sensing a chance to finish this he chased the wolf into the room only to see the wolf gone. Naruto looked sharply around the room before spotting a rotting hole in one corner of the ceiling that was easily large enough for the wolf to crawl through.

Naruto didn't have enough time to turn around as the wolf crashed through another wall tackling Naruto with him. The wolf had Naruto pinned on his stomach and was beating him about the head and shoulders with utter ferocity. Naruto used his tails subconsciously. He wrapped two tails around the wolf's neck and three around each arm and threw the beast off him with as much power as he could muster.

Naruto stood shakily. He felt dizzy from all the hits to the head but he shook it off as quickly as he could. He looked to see where he had thrown the wolf only for the wolf to be gone yet again.

Naruto decided he would have better luck in the living room. It was larger and he could see where the attack was coming from. Naruto was fully alert as he watched for the wolf to strike. He kept his ears and eyes highly attentive for even the slightest hint of the beast. It was to his surprise when he smelled the beast before he saw it. Suddenly before him the wolf shimmered into existence.

The wolf struck out viciously cutting clean through Naruto eyebrow and face. He was very lucky the wolf didn't penetrate deep enough to cut his eye out. Still the blood seeping into it didn't help any.

Naruto duck the second swipe and rammed his shoulder into the wolf knocking it back hard. He wasn't prepared for the wolf to use magic to hide itself. Nothing like this had ever been written in any text anywhere. Werewolves were supposed to be purely beast of physical brutality. An idea was slowly forming in Naruto's mind about the mind of a werewolf and their philosophy on life. Naruto quickly shook that thought from his head and focused on the here and now lest he lose his life or worse, give in to Kyubi's pleading to be free to fight it.

The wolf stood slowly this time. On close inspection you could see a long wooden spike piercing its ribs and probably its lung. The wolf ripped it out angrily. Then it smiled at Naruto before charging in again. It almost looked as if the wolf were fighting with a specific Taijutsu style. The moves were planned and crisp and the bits of magic that were incorporated as he attacked were simply amazing.

It became quickly apparent that the wolf was going to kick his ass if he didn't do something soon. The wolf was as strong as he was and far more mobile. Its humanoid body gave it a level of flexibility that shouldn't have been possible. Naruto was fast but he couldn't exactly punch the wolf and while his tails could wrap the wolf up and throw it they couldn't do any real significant damage.

"**_You're going to die here brat,"_** Kyubi laughed inside of Naruto's head agitating him, "**_You can't fight him in you human form and you aren't used to your fox form to fight him. You'd better let me take over before you get us both killed."_**

"_No," _shouted Naruto in his mind, "_I'll not do that. Not ever. I won't become just like that wolf. I won't become just like you."_

"**_Ah, but you are like me. You've become a fox like me. You've learn to fight from me. You have the same chakra as me. Everyday boy we become more and more the same being. Soon there will be no difference between us."_**

"_I won't let that happen. I'll become more than you to prevent that from every happening," _Naruto was screaming through his head at the fox when his own words echoed through is mind 'become more than you'.

Naruto now had a plan. He just needed enough time and hell of a lot of luck to pull it off.

The wolf could see the boy calculation behind his eyes. The wolf felt that the fox may yet become a worthy adversary.

Naruto grinned as if in challenge. He charged at the wolf. The wolf was prepared to skewer him on its claws but then the fox did something unexpected. He dropped to his belly and slid across the floor right between its legs. Naruto's tails shot up and wrapped around the wolf's legs arms and neck and then threw it with as much force as he could muster. The wolf crashed through several support beams and another wall landing it in another room. Naruto moved quickly and yanked free the last support beam for that room causing part of the ceiling to collapse on it. It wouldn't stop him but it would at least slow him down. The only question was if it would be long enough.

Naruto returned to the main room and closed his eyes as he concentrated on an image of himself and an image of the wolf and yet another image of his fox form. Suddenly pain shot through his body as he felt his joints shifting and changing yet again. His front legs became smaller but at the same time more flexible and claw-like hands formed. His long snout flatten painfully though not completely. His hips shifted, cracking several times as they aligned themselves with his spine. He was suddenly standing again though he still felt very much like a fox. The image in his head was now that of a Were-Kyubi.

Naruto opened his eyes to see the wolf approaching patiently with a pleased gleam in its eyes. Now, things would get really interesting. Naruto cracked his neck to each side and flexed his arms a bit before cracking his knuckled too. "**Let's get wild!"**

Naruto ran forward only to slow to block a strike from the wolf and then drive his free hand, now closed-fisted, deep into the wolf's exposed stomach lifting it inches off the ground. Naruto strike cost him though as the wolf's free hand crashed into the side of his head.

Time soon lost meaning as the two titans battled through the night, neither giving an inch nor relenting for even a second lest the other kill one of them.

Naruto discovered that while in that form he could used some of his Jutsu but it was very limited. He could manipulate chakra to walk on the walls or in this case run. He could use his family's bloodlimit but instead of the bright yellow flashes they were bright red.

The wolf seemed limited in the same way. It could turn invisible at will. It could manipulate its magic to make it stronger and faster. It seemed to prefer to use its claws to stick to the walls but there was no telling if it could use its magic in such a way.

By the time the moon began to set both were bloodied and beaten and really quite tired. How either of them was still standing was unknown but they were none the less.

Finally the wolf just stopped moving and began to howl in pain as it began to revert to the human form that was Remus.

Naruto waited until the change was complete just to be certain the wolf wasn't trying to trick him. Finally when only a bloody and bruised Remus remained Naruto changed back into his human form quite painfully. This night had done two very important things for Naruto. He learned to make himself and Kyubi one body. And most importantly, he learned the true consequences and possibilities of what could really happen if Kyubi were to ever completely take over. After that night, it was something that would never happen.


	13. Chapter 13

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"Oh my head," complained Naruto as he was finally regaining consciousness. That would be the last time he ever tangoed with a werewolf if he could help it.

"Too loud," whispered another voice, "big headache," the voice added as an after thought.

Naruto groggily opened his eyes to the blaringly white walls of the Hospital ward. Naruto slowly turned his head to the left and to the source of the voice. What he saw was Remus Lupin wrapped from head to toe in white bandages. "You look like a mummy."

Lupin could hardly move after that night's event. He tried to rotate his head and body just a bit to look at Naruto, "So do you."

Naruto looked at himself a bit. He was in incredible pain even now. He didn't have near as much wrapping as Lupin did but he still looked like a mummy. "How long was I out?"

"I saw Dumbledore a little while ago," said Lupin, "He told me that Poppy had decided that we were both finally healthy enough to be reawakened. After that he said we've both been out for about two months. Whatever happened completely drained the both of us physically and magically. That's never happened before after going wolf."

"What about the full moon?" asked Naruto.

"Apparently with my magic levels so low there just wasn't enough energy to change. From what Poppy has told me I'm lucky to be alive as are you with such low levels."

"You damn bastard," Naruto said half-heartedly, "All those books on were-wolf's I've read since meeting you are completely worthless."

"I don't think you could ever really learn about how dangerous a were-wolf can be from a book. It just doesn't do it justice," said Lupin.

"That's not what I'm talking about," said Naruto.

"Would you care to elaborate Mr. Kazama?" requested an aged voice that had just joined them.

"Sure," said Naruto not feeling up to his usually levels of energy. In fact he was ready to go back to sleep but he knew he should at least elaborate a little. "Those books must have been written by idiots who've never stepped foot in a room with a were-wolf. They have no idea of how powerful the wolf really is. I'm lucky to be alive."

Dumbledore chuckled, even exhausted Naruto had the ability to make others laugh. "I must say, I am curious how the wolf was able to do so much damage to you and more importantly why you did so much damage to poor Remus."

"Poor Remus my ass," said Naruto gaining a bit of flare, "I've read all about were-wolves out of curiosity for Moony's condition. Never once have I read or has any author said that a were-wolf is damn clever and even more cunning than any rotten Slytherin any day of the week. Never once have I read about a were-wolf being able to turn invisible at will. That wolf was anything but a mindless killing machine. It was cool and calculating and could use magic in the same way a ninja can. Whoever wrote those books should be drawn and quartered." Naruto had read once about being drawn and quartered and it sound like the most painful experience possible.

Naruto having finished his rant and feeling much more awake only now noticed the looks of shock on the faces of Remus and Dumbledore.

"Are you saying the werewolf was able to use magic?" asked Dumbledore with great worry.

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying," said Naruto sitting up now and feeling better with every moment that passed, "He turned invisible, used magic to make himself completely silent, used magic to make himself faster and stronger. And he was damn smart too. He set up traps, used various strategies when choosing his attacks. He fought as if he'd been trained in Taijutsu his entire life. I'm lucky to be alive and you put me into that situation."

"I assure you Naruto we did not know that a were-wolf could do those things," said Dumbledore.

"And that is even worse," said Naruto, "You put me into a situation that could have gotten me killed."

"Naruto," said Remus full of shame, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know I would . . . I've never done before . . . I'm sorry."

"I don't blame you Remus except in the fact that you agreed to it in the first place. Most of the blame for this lies with the old man. The fact is that no one has ever put a were-wolf before an opponent it deemed worthy. Apparently that were-wolf felt that I was a worthy challenge and decided not to restrain itself in the slightest."

"Naruto, I don't think . . ." began Dumbledore.

"Don't think, obviously!" shouted Naruto now getting into a full on rant. "That wolf had the eyes that I've only seen one place before in my entire life. Do you want to know when I've seen the same eyes as I saw on that were-wolf last night? Do you want to hear that I've seen those same calculating cold eyes in only one place? Do you want to know that those are the same eyes I see every time I have to face Kyubi? You wanted me to learn a lesson and believe me, I've learned it."

Dumbledore looked greatly saddened and deflated. All of his knowledge was worthless this time. Everything he knew about the dangers of being a were-wolf was completely and utterly useless. In one evening, Naruto had learned more about were-wolves than anyone ever. He shattered every rule and preconceived notion about were-wolves.

"I am sorry Naruto," said Dumbledore defeated completely, "I did want you to learn this lesson and you needed to learn in a very harsh manner. This went much farther than I had ever believed it would go. I placed you in harms way intentionally and I am prepared to pay the consequence Naruto. I leave the decision to you as to how I should be punished."

Naruto was slightly surprised by Dumbledore's offer. He wanted to jump on the offer right away but then he thought about it and came up with a better idea, "Alright, I'll choose your punishment. You owe me a huge favor to be called in whenever I need it."

"Then it will be so," said Dumbledore with a slight glimmer in his eyes.

"Now for you Moony," said Naruto focusing in the remorseful teacher.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'll resign my position. It is clearly not safe for me to be here any longer," said Remus.

"Bull shit you will," said Naruto, "You're not going anywhere. You're going to learn to control your were-wolf side and become my sparring partner for training my Animagus form."

Remus looked up in utter shock at Naruto. "You mean, you don't . . . you don't want me gone. You actually want me to fight you again?"

"Hell yeah," said Naruto, "I've got a lot to learn about fighting in that form and the only one strong enough for me to fight against is you in your were-wolf form. Besides, I need to learn a lot more about using my chakra when in that form. I'm certain I could learn to do that invisibility thing the were-wolf did."

Dumbledore laughed as he braced himself for his next question. "Naruto, I am afraid I must ask you something rather difficult. Did you use Kyubi's chakra at all?"

"I'm always using some of his chakra. If you want to know if I tapped into the mother load, then no, I didn't and I never will unless I must," said Naruto.

"Good for you Naruto," said Dumbledore, "You do not want that to become a crutch. And at the same time don't entirely stop using it or you will be unable to handle it when a time comes that you really do need it."

"You really do meddle a lot don't you?" asked Naruto with a slight grin while some anger was bubbling under the surface.

"Naruto, one day you too will feel the burden of leadership and making decisions that are most difficult and very important just the same," said Dumbledore, "I can see it in your eyes boy. And more importantly, you know it, you know it instinctively. That beyond anything will help you to one day become a great leader. You will understand one day even if you don't completely understand it now."

"You are one weird old man," said Naruto trying to lighten the rather heavy words that struck straight to his core. "Anyway, when the hell can I get out of here?"

"Tomorrow I should think," said Dumbledore thankful for Naruto changing the subject, "For now you must rest."

**BREAK**

"Baka," shouted Harry for the two hundredth time as he thought back on Naruto's predicament.

"He is a baka," said Anko, "Now stop thinking about it. He's a big boy and he knew damn well what he was doing. Have a bit of faith in him and stop worrying. You have your own training to see to brat."

Harry sighed once before resuming his training after the short interlude. Training was probably the only thing that kept Harry occupied with Naruto in the hospital. It had been a rough two months since Dumbledore had informed him that Naruto was in the Hospital ward with severe exhaustion and deadly low chakra levels. The fact that the defense teacher was in the same state was something that didn't bode well either.

"Brat, stop worrying about Naruto and focus or I will have to kill you," said Anko landing three quick and rather deep slashes on Harry's leg and arms. This was something she'd been able to do much more often lately as Harry was so damn distracted by his cousin's state.

Harry growled in frustration, "Damn it Anko-sensei, what the hell?"

"Brat, you need to be able to focus under any circumstance. There will be times where your teammate is injured and will rely on you to protect them long enough to get help. There might even come a time when a teammate is killed on a mission that you still have to complete," lectured Anko as she pressed her advantage and sliced the boy several more times in non-vital areas. "You must be able to function or you will die."

Harry was finally sliced one last time ending his fight this time. His sword dropped from his wounded hand with a clang on the floor.

"You're dead again," said Anko harshly before sighing heavily and looking at Harry angrily, "Get out . . . just get the hell out before I decide to end your career as a shinobi permanently."

Harry didn't need to be told twice. He performed a few basic healing spells for cuts that he looked up in the library for just such an occasion before leaving the room to go to the hospital ward for a proper healing.

Harry's walk was ambushed once again by someone covering his eyes. One whiff of air told him all he needed to know. Though the fact that he'd been snuck up upon yet again was slightly disturbing, "Not now Ginny."

"Sour puss," said Ginny taking her hands away. She learned after the first time she caught him to keep her distance from the sweaty and stinky boy, though this time he was also rather bloody.

"Please Ginny, not now," said Harry not in the mood at all to goad her as he normally would have.

"Don't give me that," said Ginny, "I know you're all depressed over Naruto's condition but that is no reason for you to be a complete prat you know."

"Look, now is really not a good time," said Harry angrily. He didn't need to hear this, least of all from her.

"Oh, I think this is the perfect time," said Ginny getting plenty riled up, "You don't think we've all been worried about Naruto? We have. The fact that he and a teacher came in so banged up has riled all of us. What if it was you-know-who that did that to them? You know how strong Naruto is. If something can hurt him like that then what chance do the rest of us have? I know you're strong too Harry. You're a great wizard and a good shinobi. I don't even know how powerful you truly are but I do know just from feeling that Naruto has a depth of power that none of us could even fathom let alone contain as he has. Hermione's noticed. Ron and Neville are both too dense to feel it but believe me they will eventually. Now why don't you stop being a prat and just try talking to me. I might understand better than you think."

Harry was at a loss for words. She had just outright stated what he knew without question. And yet she was still here waiting for him to talk to her. Finally after a long pause and gaping like a fish out of water he spoke, "I should have been with him."

"And then you would probably be there with him and helping no one," said Ginny, "Dumbledore said that Naruto knew what he was getting into anyway."

"It doesn't matter," shouted Harry, "I should have been there by his side. All our lives we've only had each other. We've always looked out for each other no matter what. And here I am safe and healthy while he's laid up in that damn hospital. I failed him."

"You didn't fail him," shouted Ginny back. She knew full well that Harry needed to get this out and if yelling at her did it then she'd take it. "He failed you. He should never have put himself . . . let me say that one more time to make sure you heard me right. _He should never have put himself_ in that situation. He failed, not you."

"You don't know what your saying," yelled Harry hotly, "He doesn't know how to fail. He's always succeeded even with all the hatred he's had to live with his entire life. No matter what was thrown at him he was always strong and fought through until he succeeded."

"He may not have failed his task but he did fail you," said Ginny. "Look at yourself. You're a mess. You're obviously not concentrating or you wouldn't be so beat to shit. Those bags under your eyes tell me you haven't been sleeping well if at all. If Naruto truly succeeded then you would never have had a single reason to worry and yet here we are with you worried sick."

"NO!" Harry shouted denying her words as strongly as he could even though he wasn't finding fault in her argument, "I failed him by not being there to protect him."

"Harry," Ginny shouted getting his attention. Ginny voice then softened to an almost whisper, "Naruto doesn't need you to protect him."

Those seven simple words shattered Harry's resolve. He'd known it now for a long time but no one had ever said it out loud before now. He'd always believed that his greatest strength came from protecting his precious people, but he never once considered that his most precious person, his only family, was capable of protecting himself. Harry's head sagged heavily as he tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to erupt. He was only slightly surprised when he was wrapped in a very warm embrace that was whispering comforting words to him.

After a while of being held in such a wonderful embrace Harry spoke, "Thank you Ginny. I mean it. No one has ever done that for me before. Thank you."

Ginny just smiled slightly as she met his eyes before blushing slightly, "It's what friends are for."

"Is that all we are?" asked Harry, "Just friends?"

"I don't know," answered Ginny, "I grew up dreaming of the 'Great Harry Potter' and now I've met you and . . . I just don't know. There are so many secrets always surrounding you and we are just breaking the surface of that. Part of me is terrified to see what you're really and truly like underneath all the secrets and mystery."

Harry smiled faintly at her though his eyes were a million miles away, "I let you in if you want, but once you know, you'll never be the same again."

Ginny seemed outright shocked. Here was the boy of her dreams offering to bare all his secrets to her if she wanted to know.

"Look," interrupted Harry as she was about to answer, "You don't have to answer now. Just . . . think about it." Harry then vanished in a whirl of dust much to Ginny's surprise.

Ginny was left in that hall with a lot to think about that day and for the next few years even.

**BREAK**

"So troublesome," sighed Shikamaru. As much as he hated to admit it he was actually starting to enjoy training with Anko-sensei. Sure, she was a sadist and most likely completely insane but the she did know her shit. He definitely gained in strength and speed and his chakra reserves had grown exponentially. And while training was indeed troublesome he found that being in this wizarding world taught him entirely new ways of being lazy. He would never again have to wash clothes or scrub floors at home again. All of his cooking could be finished with a simple wave of a wand. He could bring his lazy ways to a whole new level. The only troublesome side to magic was that he had to use his brain a lot more to perform the spells.

"I'll give you something troublesome," said Anko with a sneer as she snuck up behind him only to see him sink into the shadows almost instantly. Anko smiled at the game of cat and mouse they were playing. She loved the challenge the lazy brat gave her. The name of the game was simply Assassin's duel. The idea was to get into a guaranteed kill position on the opponent. No Taijutsu was aloud or it would ruin the point of the exercise, stealth. While Anko could not move inside of shadows she could certainly blend in until the boy screwed up.

Shikamaru moved quickly within the shadow to find a safer vantage point to kill her from. His shadow walk was a great technique but it drained ridiculous amounts of chakra if he used it for too long. Most often his losses in this game came from losing a battle of attrition versus a perfect kill. Thus far he had yet to best Anko and it didn't look like it was going to happen today as his chakra was already waning.

"You lose," whispered voice in his ear as he felt a kunai pressed to his groin and the back of his neck.

"So troublesome," said Shikamaru ending this round.

"You did better this time," said Anko giving him one of her very rare compliments, "You're still making too much noise when you come out of the shadows and you don't hide your chakra well enough yet but it was a big improvement from when we first started."

Shikamaru knew he would regret his next question but he asked it anyway, "Why are you being so nice today?"

"What's that?" asked Anko in a sickly sweet voice, "Aren't I always nice? Am I not a kind and merciful Jounin to you brats?"

"No," said Shikamaru bluntly, "Now what do you want with me?"

Anko laughed heartily, "Good job brat. Noticing the difference in people's attitudes is important for a shinobi. It is even more important for a spy and assassin. Many good assassins can get inside, kill, and get out again before the body has even gone cold. But the best assassin is the one that hides right in front of you, sits at the same table as you during dinner, and smiles in your face knowing that he is going to kill you and you will never know that he's the one who did it."

"Are you saying that you want me to assassinate someone?" asked Shikamaru with a bored tone.

"Precisely," said Anko with a smile causing Shikamaru to gasp in shock.

"Wha . . . what do you mean?" stuttered Shikamaru.

"You're going to kill Miss Weasley tonight at dinner with out her ever knowing it," said Anko with a glimmer of glee in her eyes, "And if you fail, I will kill you myself."

"H . . . how?" asked Shikamaru still in shock before he remember the first time he met her. He suddenly realized it was another test. "You're testing me. You want to see if I'll make the same mistake Hinata made and kill a comrade. Well you can forget it."

"You're right," said Anko looking more serious, "And you're also very wrong. It is a test to see if you a capable of killing in front of dozens of witnesses and even a few shinobi without ever being caught or even implicated. That means you cannot ask the house elves to assist you as they are bound to tell the headmaster if they added a poison to anyone goblet or food."

"But why? Ginny is not an enemy," said Shikamaru.

"No?" asked Anko, "Did she or did she not use a dark object intended to lure Harry to his own death? Intentional or unintentional she has become a threat to the safety of this team and that will not be tolerated. As a shinobi of Konoha you have but one loyalty to uphold. You will follow orders Shikamaru."

Shikamaru nodded solemnly before he asked again, "How?"

"With this," said Anko holding up a small vile with a clear liquid, "One drop will be enough. She will have an aneurism within seconds of ingestion and die. She won't feel any pain and no one will ever be able to tell what caused it."

"I still don't understand why?" said Shikamaru.

"It is for the best," said Anko solemnly.

Shikamaru's hands shook as he took the vile in hand and left.

Anko wanted to laugh at the poor boy as he left looking so resigned. She was a sadistic bitch and she knew but damn if she didn't enjoy tormenting her students and playing with their minds. Even so, this was a lesson that Shikamaru needed to learn as did Harry.

**BREAK**

Shikamaru sat down in the great hall with a heavy say in his trademark catch phrase.

"You say that everyday and yet you don't ever look nearly as beat up as Harry," said Hermione more than a little annoyed by the lazy genius.

"It's too troublesome," said Shikamaru yet again.

Ron and Neville both had to restrain Hermione after that much to the dismay of those present.

"He sure does know how to push her buttons," said Ginny to Harry with a bit of a laugh.

"Yeah, but I don't think he's able to push them as well as Ron does," said Harry back.

"Maybe, but I've never seen her try to physically attack Ron either," said Ginny with a grin.

"And that's lucky for him," said Hermione sitting down with a huff and slamming her books into the table.

"Do you have to be so loud?" asked Shikamaru as he turned his head to look the other direction.

Hermione's books went flying about the table knocking things all about and causing several dishes to slide his way including Ginny's. No one noticed a drop fall from Shikamaru's finger onto her plate. Harry was too busy trying to help restrain Hermione from killing his lazy teammate to notice.

"It's too loud in here and you're too troublesome," said Shikamaru excusing himself from the table. He done this occasionally in the past so he hoped no one would be suspicious of his early departure.

Once in the halls Shikamaru wandered around looking for somewhere to stare at the clouds and admire their freedom. Freedom that he would never know or have.

Harry, Ron, and Neville eventually got Hermione back in her seat and restacked her books nicely so they could continue with their meals in peace and quite.

Ginny like so many other Weasley's was brought up to not leave any food on her plate if she served it to herself. She ate with a common vigor joking and laughing with her friends as they usually did. When suddenly she saw a little red drop hit her plate. She put her hand to her face to feel wetness. When she pulled her hand away she saw red blood on her fingers.

"What's thi . . ." but that was a far as she was able to say before she fell backwards into blackness.

Harry saw Ginny's nose begin to bleed and was puzzled. Then he saw her start to fall backwards, her eyes quickly losing focus. Harry caught her before she hit the ground.

"Ginny," Harry said slightly worried trying to get some kind of response out of her but there was nothing. No breathing, no pulse, just nothing. "Oh no, somebody get help, hurry!"

The entire hall was in an uproar of panic that not even Dumbledore could prevent.

The teachers all rushed down the aisle to where Harry was holding the innocent girl that for all intents and purposes was dead.

"Hurry, we must get her to Poppy now," said Dumbledore, however before he could levitate her Harry had scooped her up and run for the Hospital ward at a speed that only a shinobi could possess.

Harry entered the hospital to find Anko talking with Poppy.

"Madam Pomfrey, help her, please," he said as he carried her over to the nearest cot.

Poppy rushed over while Anko stood by and watched.

"She's had an aneurism of the brain," said Poppy checking her diagnostic spells, "I'm sorry Mr. Potter, but there is nothing that can be done for her now. If we had found it weeks ago, maybe there would have been a chance to prevent it . . . but . . ."

Harry was shaking his head. It shouldn't have happened like this. This should never have happened. He was there with her so that nothing could harm her. So that she would be protected as he couldn't protect Naruto. "No, I was there. Nothing should have been able to hurt her with me there with her. How could this happen? How am I supposed to protect the people I care for if they can just die without reason?"

"You can't Harry," said Anko coldly, "People die. They are murdered, commit suicide, have accidents, the lucky few will die of old age, many of disease, and some just die."

"But I was there," yelled Harry, "I was right next to her."

"Harry, you're not a god," said Anko, "You never will be no matter how powerful you become. You have to accept your limitations Harry. You cannot stop death from happening to everyone. But if you're very lucky, you will live a long life and save as many as you can along the way."

"I couldn't protect them. I couldn't protect Naruto when he needed help the most. I couldn't stop Ginny from dieing, how can I ever save anyone else if I can't even keep them safe?" asked Harry through his own tears.

"You don't need to protect everyone all the time," said Anko, "You protect as many as you can from the things you are able to protect them from. You weren't able to protect Naruto, because he didn't need you to protect him and because you weren't meant to protect him this time. You weren't able to protect Ginny because no one could have protected her from that death. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded solemnly as the tears continued to leak down his face.

"So, are you ready to focus? Are you ready to prepare yourself to protect those that it is within your power to protect?"

Harry's resolve fortified in that one instant, "I am."

"Good, then let's wake up Ginny," said Anko tossing him a small vile, "It's the antidote to the poison I had Shikamaru give her."

Harry was incensed instantly and ready to kill her for it.

"You only have another thirty seconds to administer that or she really will die brat," said Anko before she strolled out of the ward to seek out the assassin and lecture him.

Harry wanted to chase after her and kill her but right now Ginny was more important. He rushed to her side and poured the contents of the vile down her throat and massaged it to ensure she swallowed it. It only took a moment before she shot up straight gasping for breath.

Harry felt instant relief as he hugged her strongly, "Oh Ginny, you're alright."

Ginny finally regained her breath enough to speak, "What happened? Why am I in the hospital ward? Why do you look like you've been crying?"

Harry wiped away the tears, "I wasn't crying there was just something in my eyes."

"Liar," said Ginny playfully though not liking the look in Harry's eyes that he tried desperately to cover up.

"Maybe," said Harry with a bit of melancholy, "Do you remember when I offered to let you in? I can explain what happened tonight but to do that you'll have to know everything."

Ginny had been surprised that Harry brought this up again so soon. She would have answered him when he asked that morning but he vanished so quickly. She wanted to know the answer. She wanted him to let her in. But now, seeing the look of trepidation and fear in his eyes she began to doubt herself. "Tell me," she finally said.

"Anko-sensei made Shikamaru poison you," said Harry with deadly seriousness.

"Why? Why would she do that?" asked Ginny disbelievingly.

"To teach me a lesson for my lack of focus recently," said Harry.

"So, she tried to kill me to force you to focus more? How messed up is she?"

"Very," said Harry, "But it worked, as messed up as that is."

"She couldn't have just explained it to you?" asked Ginny trying to stay calm about this.

"Ginny, you know that I am a shinobi right?" asked Harry, "But do you really understand what it is to be shinobi?"

"You know different magic's for fighting right?" asked Ginny not sure she would like the answer.

"Yes, and no," said Harry, "The magic we learn isn't just for fighting. The magic we learn is for killing. We are tools to be used in any capacity, be it for war, spying, protection, or even assassination. I think part of tonight was a test for Shikamaru on assassination. Anko-sensei is psychotic without a doubt, but her teaching ensures that we learn the lessons important to survival as a shinobi the first time and she doesn't pull any punches. If I had not learned the lesson she probably would have left you to die to ensure I learned the lesson. It is very harsh, but it is the life I have chosen to live."

Ginny was speechless. She was so easily sacrificed to ensure that Harry would learn a lesson. Was her life so meaningless? "Why me? Am I so worthless that I can be thrown away so easily?" she asked through now heavy sobs.

"No, just the opposite," said Harry, "She sees how much I value you above all of my other friends, maybe even above Naruto. She knew that this lesson would be the most effective if it was you. For that I will always be sorry. I put you in harms way simply because I care for you. It is my weakness and now that it is known my enemies will try to exploit that weakness and I may not be able to protect you."

Ginny was once more stunned. Harry was telling her so openly that she would be in danger just because he cared for her.

"You now have two choices," said Harry, "We can end our friendship and do as much as possible to put as much distance between us as possible."

Ginny's face soured at that idea not liking it one bit. She simply wasn't the type to back down.

"The other option is for you to learn to protect yourself properly," said Harry, "This would be the most difficult path to take. You could never become a full shinobi but you could learn some of our skills that would help to keep you alive longer. I could teach you hand-to-hand combat and weapons, but beyond that there is nothing else I could help you with."

Ginny liked this option best especially if it let her stay closer to Harry.

"You're asking for trouble," said a calm voice that didn't sound very happy either.

Harry and Ginny both turned quickly to see Naruto standing there with his arms crossed looking a bit angry.

"Naruto, you're awake," said Harry excitedly but instantly calmed seeing the expression on his face.

"I woke up this afternoon," said Naruto still glaring at them, "So, you been given a test too."

"I know, and I learned my lesson," said Harry glaring back at him.

"Not you," said Naruto looking from Harry to Ginny, "you."

"Me?" questioned Ginny.

"You now know how hard the life is that we lead," said Naruto, "Do you really think that you'll be able to stick through everything that is going to be coming our way? Do honestly think you'd be comfortable in the future knowing that Harry's job is to kill people? You're being tested by Anko-sensei as much as Harry is. Sure the idea of standing by his side is romantic but the reality of the situation is that you could easily be killed for it. Voldemort will return, you know this after your experience with that Diary. Do you honestly think you'll be able to stand at Harry's side when he has to fight him knowing that Voldemort would kill you just to hurt Harry? It's like Harry said, you can get as far away from us as possible now or . . . you can become strong enough that Harry won't have to worry about you getting hurt. Either way, the choice is yours and both risk causing Harry an equal amount of pain."

"And what about you?" asked Ginny defensively, "Do you honestly think that Harry won't get hurt if you die or get hurt like you just were?"

"No, I don't think, I know he will. But you know what? I already made my choice," said Naruto, "It sucks that you have to choose so young but that is just the way things are for us. If you decide now that you want to distance yourself there is no turning back. You can never again get close to him."

"Why? Why can't I change my mind later?" asked Ginny. It was actually more of a demand.

"Ginny, how old are you?" asked Naruto.

"Twelve," she answered defiantly, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Even now, training you well enough to defend yourself will be nearly impossible. In another year, it will be entirely impossible. You would never develop the strength or chakra necessary. So I say again, it is all or nothing."

"That can't be the only choices," said Ginny not daring to believe.

"There is one other choice," said Naruto, "Don't train, stay close to Harry. And in the one instant he becomes distracted trying to protect you, he ends up dead for it or you do."

Ginny paled. She could hardly believe that Naruto was being so blunt about this.

"The truth is that you and Harry should both be executed. You for knowing about us and him for even suggesting it," said Naruto with deadly seriousness.

Ginny looked to Harry to see his eyes down cast in shame. He'd already risked so much in just telling her this little bit. He'd been caught out by Naruto doing something that he should have never done, especially knowing the consequences.

"Then why don't you kill us both already?" asked Ginny with the only little bit of defiance left in her at this point.

"Because he is my only family and for whatever reason that I can't fathom he has chosen you," said Naruto with a slight smile breaking his serious demeanor if only for a second. "The fact is that I would never leave Harry behind. I would die to keep him safe and protect him, even if it means going against the village laws to do it."

"Why haven't you said any of this to the others?" asked Ginny curiously, "They all know that you are shinobi."

"There are reasons for that," said Naruto secretively not wanting to give away Harry's thoughts on the matter. "Anyway, that doesn't matter. He's chosen to tell you and now you are going to have to decide what you're going to do." With that Naruto turned and limped back to his bed. Unfortunately he only made it about five steps before he fell to the ground asleep.

"Rest tonight Ginny," said Harry, "I'm sure that Dumbledore has already explained everything away as just fatigue or something." Harry stood from the edge of the cot intent on leaving but not before he put his snoring cousin back in his cot.

"What is it with Potter's and Redheads?" asked the now awake and smirking defense professor.

"Oh no, not another one," said Harry with a groan, "Now you, I can just kill."

"Relax Harry, your secret is safe with me," said Remus with a smile at the boy. This was first time he'd had a real chance to interact with Harry outside of his classes.

"And what was that about Potter's and Redheads?"

"Every single male Potter has married a fiery redhead for the last Merlin knows how many generations. Your Grandmother was a redhead and boy did she have a temper, so did your mother for that matter," said Remus with a chuckle, "Best be careful with that one. Not only is she a redhead but she's also a Weasley. A dangerous combination if there ever was one."

"And how do you know that?" asked Harry suspicious of this defense teacher who prior to today had never spoken to him.

"Believe it or not, I was a very close friend to your father," said Remus with a sad smile.

"So why haven't you said anything sooner?" asked Harry.

"I don't know," said Remus, "I didn't know what to say. It's kind of hard to just come out and say 'Hey, I was good friends with your mum and dad, lets get to know each other.' Somehow I don't think that would have gone over so well."

"Your right, it wouldn't. So why are you trying it now?" asked Harry critically.

"Desperation," said Remus with a sigh, "I've tried several times to find something to talk to you about but every time I do I seem to lose my nerve."

"So, what can you tell me about my mother and father that I haven't heard from everyone else already?" asked Harry.

"Well, you know your father was quite the prankster don't you?" asked Remus.

"So I've been told. It would seem that I started Hogwarts as a marked man thanks to his reputation," said Harry with a small laugh.

"I should think so. Some of the things your father did will never be forgotten by the staff here. I can remember this one time . . ."


	14. Chapter 14

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"So, you've decided brat?" asked Anko of the petite redhead standing before her. Naruto and Harry were both standing protectively on either side of her.

"How did you know?" asked Naruto.

"You brats are so predictable," said Anko with a smirk not taking her eyes off of Ginny.

Ginny wanted to disappear under that piercing look from Anko-sensei. Suddenly she wasn't feeling so sure of her decision.

"I asked if you had decided," repeated Anko looking intently at Ginny.

"I want . . . I want to learn," said Ginny nervously.

Anko studied the girl for a moment before she looked to Harry and then back to Ginny, "You know the consequences of that decision?"

Ginny didn't trust herself to speak under such a piercing glare so she just nodded once.

"Harry, Naruto, go train elsewhere. Leave us to speak alone," said Anko not taking her eyes off of Ginny.

Harry was about to protest but was silenced by Naruto pulling him away.

With Harry and Naruto out of sight Anko began to circle Ginny and study her body calculatingly. "Take off your shirt and pants," ordered Anko.

Ginny was panicked by the order.

"Stop freaking out," said Anko, "I just need to see the condition of your body, it's not like I'm asking you to strip down naked or anything."

Ginny finally nodded reluctantly and took off her sweatshirt and sweatpants leaving her standing in the freezing cold February air in only her underwear and training bra.

Anko studied her further this time looking closely at her body poking and prodding as she went. She tested the flexibility of Ginny's body as well as her basic muscle tone as well as a few other things that only shinobi would know to look for.

"You can put your clothes back on now," said Anko standing and waiting.

Ginny was only too happy to comply. By this point she was nearly freezing cold. Anko had observed her for nearly thirty minutes. Once Ginny was dressed again Anko spoke.

"Well, you're not a complete waste," said Anko, "Your flexibility is about where it should be. You're a bit fatty but a few weeks of training should take care of that. The only big problem I see is your relatively weak chakra system."

Ginny was a bit upset with the fatty comment but she was more confused in the end, "What do you mean weak chakra system? What is chakra?"

"Magic," said Anko, "You damn wizards are so dependant on your wands that your magic does not develop properly or strongly. Granted, you are more powerful than most of your peers but you are far below the weakest shinobi."

"Can I get stronger?" asked Ginny.

"We'll see," said Anko with a dangerous gleam in her eyes before pulled out a handful of needles, "These are all poisoned with a mild nerve agent. They will slow you down and make you tired but they won't kill."

Ginny didn't like where this was going.

"Start running," said Anko with a cackle of laughter.

**BREAK**

"Hey," said Shikamaru to Naruto and Harry as they arrived to their usual training spot. He'd been waiting for them.

"Yo," said Naruto before he caught the killing intent coming from Harry.

"For what its worth," said Shikamaru, "I am sorry. I was only following orders to protect Konoha and you."

Harry didn't seem to be in the mood to talk. He charged in blindly and began to pound on Shikamaru without mercy.

Naruto would have stopped him but he was stopped by a look from Shikamaru.

"She could have died," yelled Harry between hits, "You wanted her dead."

"No," said Shikamaru just taking the beating, "I didn't want to kill her."

"I don't care what you wanted," said Harry, "We're a team. I am supposed to be able to trust you and after you tried to kill Ginny, I just don't know if I can."

"What would you have done if Anko-sensei ordered you to kill Choji?" asked Shikamaru, "If Choji was unknowingly giving away vital information. Would you kill him?"

"I . . . I . . ." but Harry was at a loss.

"Don't think you're better than me Harry. You know how important it is to protect Konoha and our way of life, even if that means sacrificing a few for the good of all," said Shikamaru coldly and spitting out a bit of blood from his mouth at the end. Shikamaru stood up slowly, "I'd say we're just about even after the beating."

Harry reluctantly nodded his acceptance.

"Good, now that that is out of the way we need to train. The Chuunin exams are being held in Konoha this year and I want to be ready for it," said Naruto cracking his knuckles.

"You two are too troublesome," said Shikamaru dropping into a fighting stance as did Harry. The brawl that followed would not soon be forgotten.

**BREAK**

Ginny was not happy. She knew that Anko-sensei was psychotic but this went above and beyond anything she'd experienced before. She felt like a pin cushion. Her only muggle exercise clothes were completely ruined with holes and little blood spots.

"Not bad for your first day," said Anko, "But overall that was absolutely terrible and you should be ashamed of yourself. What kind of woman are you? Have you no pride?"

"I'm only eleven, nearly twelve years old," said Ginny with pout and on the verge of tears.

"You seem to think that should give you license to be lazy? Naruto is only eleven and only just. Harry is twelve too. Do you see either of them slacking off?"

"But they have both been doing this since they were little," protested Ginny crying now.

"Then you see how far you have got to grow if you intend to survive. I'm going to push you harder than you've ever been pushed in your entire life. You will have about a year to get where I want you or you'll be a liability to Harry's safety and I will kill you myself but for real this time. I don't like it and you certainly don't have to like it but you're going to do it," said Anko, "Now, come with me."

Anko walked towards where she felt Harry, Naruto, and Shikamaru sparring with Ginny following slowly behind her with a simple limp as she went.

"Watch their movements," said Anko not taking her eyes of the battling trio, "Do you see their eyes? Do you feel the power simply radiating from them? You may never have to face the same dangers that they will. I hope that you never do. Should you ever go to Konoha you will be safe there. No harm will come to you while you are there. You would be protected by the shinobi that live there and would die to keep it safe. I am not training you to survive in that world. I am training you to survive in this one. Voldemort will return to power without a doubt and war will come again. When it does come, Harry will be the center piece for the peace loving side. He will be ready when it comes and will fight to end the war as quickly as possible. But you, you will be a target for Voldemort and his men whether you like it or not simply because you have chosen to be closer to Harry than he will allow anyone else to be. Voldemort will send assassins to kill you and him both. There will be attempts to kidnap you just to get information about him. I hope you can truly appreciate this." With that Anko left Ginny to stand in the cold and watch the trio battle on a level that she could hardly fathom. It was becoming all too real.

She stood there watching them fight for what seemed like hours. They fought so hard and with such great power. Power that she could never hope to compete with in the way they do. They could use their chakra to deflect spells with raw power, needing no incantation.

"They at it already?" asked a voice Ginny recognized belonging to her brother.

Ginny nodded not taking her eyes off of them.

"Looks like you've had a bit of a rough morning," said Ron taking note of her state.

"Anko-sensei," Ginny answered simply.

"Psychotic woman," said Ron, "So, you going to tell me why you're doing this to yourself?"

"To survive," said Ginny.

"Survive what?" asked Ron calmly.

"The next wizarding war," said Ginny solemnly.

"Someday you'll have to tell me more about it," said Ron before he ran at a large tree and started up the side of it.

Ginny looked around and noticed that Neville and Hermione were also running up and down their own trees. Ron surprised her. She would have expected him to start questioning her heavily and getting extremely over protective of her. But he did and wasn't. It was almost as if he suddenly trusted her. It reassured her that she was doing the right thing in trying to stay close to Harry.

**BREAK**

Time passed quickly after that cold February morning that began Ginny's survival training. It was entirely physical training. She learned no magic spells or chakra Jutsu to help her survive. She learned to fight in hand to hand combat, to disarm an opponent, break limbs if necessary. She learned to channel her chakra properly through her body to help her move faster, jump higher, and hit harder. When she asked to learn Jutsu she was flat out refused for the simple fact that she wasn't a shinobi and would never need to fight like a shinobi.

Naruto, Harry, and Shikamaru very seldom received individual training anymore as it was more important for them to train their teamwork and team tactics. They still had some private training with her but it was mostly to refine what they already new and not to teach them anything new.

"Yo, Anko-sensei," said Naruto entering her office one late afternoon.

"What do you want brat?" asked Anko with her feet up on her desk and a Dango stick picking her teeth.

"I need more weight tags. Harry and I have run out of the stash we brought with us," said Naruto. It wasn't really a request. He learned, as did the others, that Anko-sensei didn't give a shit if you were polite or simply demanded what you wanted. She did seem to prefer the direct approach though.

"No, you don't," said Anko starting on another Dango.

"What do you mean 'no you don't'?"

"Naruto, you are already wearing twice the weight that Harry wears and a good amount more than even an elite Jounin wears. Any more weight and you'll become slow and sluggish because your muscles would continue to enlarge. Your family Taijutsu relies on speed and strength. You've got the strength now but your speed has started to lack. So, you will stop increasing your weight and concentrate on getting faster," explained Anko as she devoured several Dango.

"You're not bull shitting me are you?" asked Naruto.

"The only person I know that wears more weight than what you're wearing now is Maito Gai and maybe his student. You don't need more weights than you've got now. Just concentrate on getting faster now and developing your body to react faster."

"So speed now," said Naruto thoughtfully, "I think I can work on that."

"You've got strength, now you just need to develop tone to your musculature. Compact the muscles tighter and stronger and you'll become deadly."

"I'm already deadly," said Naruto with a cheeky grin.

"Speaking of deadly, how are things going with wolfy?"

"Wolfy?" asked Naruto raising an eyebrow at her, "First, he prefers to be called Moony. Second, things are going quite well. I have discovered that the hybrid form drains chakra extremely quickly. But, I have learned a number of techniques from Moony's wolf form. I can't seem to replicate them as a human but I think that might have more to do with the way the Hybrid form molds chakra versus the human way."

"Have you tried using hand seals?" asked Anko.

"Don't work for shit," said Naruto, "That form has great power but I am really limited in the techniques I can use with it. The only time it would ever be useful is if I were in a massive melee battle or against another beast similar."

"That's good to know," said Anko with a thoughtful pause as she studied Naruto. She finally sat forward and gave Naruto a hard look telling him that she was going to tell him something very serious and to listen carefully. "You know, there are others like you."

"Others like me? What do you mean?"

"Other Jinchuriki, demon vessels," said Anko, "They are all or rather most of them are being trained by different villages to become weapons. Eventually, it is likely that you will have to face one of them, maybe more. It is very good to know that we may have a way to fight them if they have developed similar transformations. Do you think you could handle that?"

Naruto was quiet for a good while thinking about the repercussion of what he'd just been told. Finally he just nodded and walked away.

Naruto had been training extremely long hours in his shinobi skills. As a result his wizarding skills and grades were growing worse everyday. He still passed his classes but if he were to just put in a little more effort he'd probably be doing much better. However, as far as his shinobi skills went he'd begun once more to far outstrip Harry and Shikamaru's growth and progress. He'd finished his father's sealing techniques and the family scroll only had one thing remaining, the Hiraishin no Jutsu, which scared the shit out him to even begin to attempt anywhere close to the school. Hell, the technique itself scared the shit out of him for what it was designed to do. It was no wonder that the Yondaime was feared so much as the Yellow Flash. No, it would be a long time before Naruto ever tried to learn that technique, the chakra demands alone were terrifying and could kill him alone, but add in the stress that it would put the body through were enough to kill any Jounin. The technique scared him and that was saying something.

For now, it was enough for Naruto to keep going towards mastering his current skills. Adding the occasional elemental technique was good but mostly unnecessary as he always had another way.

Shikamaru however was another story all together. He loved the Wizard magic. It allowed him to be completely complacent except when training. He had found the spell to make his quill take notes for him so he could sleep and learn through osmosis. It really annoyed the teachers but they really couldn't yell at him because he was always able to answer their questions when tested or perform the spells needed.

His shinobi skills leveled off or as he would say, I'm satisfied, why work harder. He may not have liked to admit it but he did work hard to just keep up to a manageable level that he could keep pace with Harry and Naruto. His Shadow Jutsu became easier and more subtle, so much so that you would never know he was up to something until it was too late. He'd become a master at hiding his chakra so completely that even Anko-sensei couldn't track him much to her annoyance as he began to win the assassin's duels more and more easily. His chakra capacity still sucked when compared to Naruto or Harry but it was enough for him to do his job effectively and without ever being caught.

Anko had pretty well stopped teaching Harry anymore Hebi-do or Jutsu. It was simply that at this point he needed to polish his current techniques. His sword work however was the most impressive thing at this point. He could actually keep an equal footing with Anko-sensei when fighting swords only and no Jutsu. But once they veered away from that he was pretty well dominated by the Jounin instructor's experience.

The one thing that Harry did that was beginning to get on the nerves of his teammates was the use of wizard magic in his fights. Quite by accident he discovered that his sword could be used as a focus for wizards spells. However, it was quite unwieldy when making the basic wand movements for a spell.

The end of term was approaching quickly and soon enough it would be time to return to Konoha.

"So what do you guys got planned this summer?" asked Ron sitting down at the table and loading up his plate with food of all sorts.

"Hopefully we'll be taking an exam," said Naruto with a grin as he continued to devour his ramen rapidly.

"You're looking forward to an exam?" questioned Hermione in shock.

"Well, it's a different kind of exam," said Harry.

"You mean . . . for your kind?" asked Neville in a hushed voice as he looked side to side nervously.

Naruto and Harry both nodded vigorously showering the others with ramen broth.

"Too troublesome," mumbled Shikamaru with a loud yawn as he turned his head away from the group. It had become habit by now for Ron and Neville to both instantly place a hand on Hermione's shoulder to stop her from trying to kill him.

"Well I say good luck," added Ginny trying to break the tension, "You've guys have been working so hard lately I'm sure Anko-sensei will let you take the exam."

"Yeah, if only to get rid of us," said Naruto with a snort of laughter.

"No kidding," said Harry, "The sooner we pass this test the sooner she can quit teaching."

"Well," said Hermione with a bit of a devious smile, "That should just be extra incentive to pass test. Besides, it would definitely be better for your health."

"Hey, I don't want her to leave," pouted Ginny, "I still have a lot to learn from her damn it."

"Yeah, that reminds me," said Ron, "I never did ask why Ginny gets special training and the rest of us don't?"

"You're too old," said Harry hoping that would put Ron off.

"Maybe now," said Hermione, "But you could have started to teach us last year."

"Don't ask me," said Naruto quickly, "I know nothing." He then shoved a rather enormous lump of ramen noodles in his mouth to make it impossible for him to talk.

"Hermione just let it go," pleaded Ginny, "Anko-sensei chose to teach me because of . . . the chamber thing."

Hermione paled slightly as did the others. Except for Naruto, who was now choking on his noodles.

"She said that now that Voldemort knows about me and the diary thing he might come after me again," explained Ginny lying through her teeth flawlessly. "I've been trying to convince mum and dad to let me spend the summer with her too."

That part had surprised Harry and Shikamaru so much they both fell off the bench. Well more Shikamaru fell and pulled Harry with him.

"Really?" asked Hermione more than surprised, "You're really trying to get permission to spend and entire summer with . . . with . . . her?"

"She's not that bad," said Ginny.

Hermione simply gave her a pointed look.

"Okay, so she's a nightmare but I can't stop my training now. If I were to take an entire summer of it would be horrible," said Ginny, "I'd fall so far behind and it would be even worse than now once school started again."

"You're crazy," said Neville, "You're absolutely crazy. What the bloody hell are thinking? You want to surround yourself with more of them, an entire village of them? You can barely take the training now. What do you think is going to happen if you go with them?"

The group was completely stunned. Neville never had outbursts like this. He was always quiet and reserved despite the influence the other had over him.

"If she does come," said Naruto with a sigh, "And believe me, this is a huge, gargantuan, enormous, unbelievably big '_if_'. She would be well taken care of. Anko-sensei would like be so busy with other work that she wouldn't have as much time to torture, I mean train Ginny as she does now."

"That's not the point," said Neville, "You guys are dangerous, all of your kind are. How could you even think of bringing her to a place with even more like you? I know you two are nice guys and would never hurt any of us but can you say the same of the others there? I mean, just look at that teacher of your, Anko-sensei. She's a complete psychopath."

"Yeah, but she just weird, even for one of us," said Naruto, "Relax, we're mostly harmless when we're not on a mission. We eat, we drink, and we get down and boogie too. We're just as normal as wizards are with the exception of our chosen professions."

"That's not the point," said Neville, "She could get killed there because she is a witch."

"My grandmother didn't seem to have any problems living there. Getting married there. Having a son there," said Naruto icily. He was definitely tired of this argument.

"I don't care, I won't let her go," said Neville putting a protective arm in front of her.

"Oh, she'll go," said Naruto, "If it's the last thing I ever do, she will go with us this summer. That's a promise and I never go back on my promises."

Suddenly Neville smirk before looking to Ginny, "Now about that Agrippa card."

"Deals a deal," said Ginny handing him the card.

Naruto just dropped his jaw. He'd been completely and totally played. And by Neville of all people, "Well, don't I feel a bit sheepish."

"Don't foxes eat sheep?" asked Hermione with a triumphant smirk.

"Oh do be quiet Brains," said Naruto before he got a gleam in his eyes. "Neville, I do believe we've just found your nickname, I hereby dub thee, Sheep-Coat."

"Huh?" chorused the group.

"You are after all, a wolf in sheep's clothing," said Naruto causing the wave of realization to hit the group.

"Hey, that was almost clever," said Hermione with a smirk deflating Naruto completely.

**BREAK**

"Okay, we're ready let's go," said Naruto with an excited grin. It was finally time to go home.

Anko yawned tiredly. It was way too early for her to be awake after her late night drinking binge with Hagrid. She may have drunk him under the table but she was certainly paying for it now. "Shut up brat!" she yelled painfully.

"Come on already," said Naruto, "The portkey is ready to go. We're just waiting for you."

"I'm going to kill you if you don't shut the hell up now," said Anko icily.

"As if you could catch me as hung-over as you are," said Naruto sticking his tongue out at her.

"Death," said Anko as she gave chase rather sluggishly. The suddenly movement was good for about ten seconds before she felt last evenings beverages coming back to haunt her.

"You're going to be in for a very rough portkey ride," said Naruto shaking his head at her as she barfed out one of the castle windows.

"You're dead," said Anko getting a second wind.

Naruto ran for it at a dead sprint to the waiting Shikamaru, Harry, and Ginny. He quickly grabbed hold of the portkey and directed it at the rapidly approaching Anko.

She barely touched it causing the portkey to activate and whisk the five people away.

Naruto, Harry, and Shikamaru all landed perfectly at ease. Ginny landed on her behind rather painfully. And poor Anko, or maybe lucky Anko, landed with her head in the trash can.

"Late night binge?" asked Sarutobi with a chuckle at the state of his Jounin.

"She drank Hagrid under the table in two hours and he's a half-giant with huge resistances to shit like that," said Naruto, "How she did it we may never know? But I'm sure if you were to look into the contents of that trash can you might at least have an inkling."

Sarutobi laughed heartily at Naruto's usual antics. He had missed his three little leaves very much. It was then he noticed Harry help a small redhead to stand. "And what do we have here?" asked Sarutobi with kindly smile.

"This is Ginny," said Harry, "The one Anko-sensei told you she'd be bringing with us."

Sarutobi didn't lose his smile, "I'm afraid that I don't know anything about this."

Harry and Ginny both instantly looked at Naruto.

"So I lied," said Naruto, "Anko-sensei said no so I lied to you both and then tricked her into drinking Hagrid under the table so she wouldn't notice Ginny waiting with us to take the portkey. I've kept my promise and she came with us."

Sarutobi chuckled again. Only Naruto would even attempt something like this let alone actually succeed. "Well done Naruto," said Sarutobi laughing still, "A well executed plan. But now, I wonder, what are we to do with young Miss . . ."

"Weasley, sir," said Ginny, "I suppose I'll have to go back huh?"

"Well, that would be the logical thing to do," said Sarutobi, "However, we have no knowledge of how to create a portkey, so I'm afraid you will be stuck here with us until Harry, Naruto, and Shikamaru are to return next year."

"Yes," said Ginny excitedly before instantly calming after noticing the glare from Anko-sensei.

"You tricked me brat," said Anko looking now at Naruto.

"Yeah, so, you shouldn't have fallen for it," said Naruto.

"I'll punish you for this after my hangover's gone," said Anko turning back to the garbage can.

"I figured you would," said Naruto with a grin before he whipped out a camera and took a quick Polaroid of the sick Jounin.

Anko suddenly looked at Naruto with wide-eyes, "Don't even think about it."

"No punishment, no picture," said Naruto with a grin as he took a second picture.

Anko's eyes were working furiously as she tried to figure this one out. She was far too hung-over to take the picture from him. If she tried he would no doubt escape and spread the pictures everywhere. "Fine, destroy the pictures and I'll forget this little indiscretion ever happened."

"Deal," said Naruto, "Now, I know of a certain Ramen stand that is in desperate need of my financial contribution."

"As well as mine," said Harry.

"So troublesome," said Shikamaru with a yawn, "I guess some ramen wouldn't be too troublesome."

"I think it is safest if I go with them for now," said Ginny with a slight smile.

"Be sure to stop and collect your pay from the secretary for your time in deep cover," said Sarutobi with a small smile. Once the children left his office the smile vanished as he turned to Anko. "Do you have any idea of what you've done?"

Anko only now looked ashamed, "I'm sorry Hokage-sama."

"You've been teaching her haven't you?" he asked.

"Yes Hokage-sama," said Anko not daring to meet his eyes.

"Why?" asked Sarutobi emotionlessly.

"Harry has chosen her," said Anko with a slight smile that didn't go unnoticed by Sarutobi.

"I see," said Sarutobi coldly, "Is she a threat?"

"No, I have refused to teach her any Jutsu," said Anko with urgency, "I only taught her enough to defend herself in her world. Nothing that would betray us."

Sarutobi re-lit his pipe and inhaled deeply, "And you're certain of the attachment Harry has for her?"

"Most certain," said Anko, "He would die to keep her safe."

"So you trained her because she became a liability to Harry's safety in the wizarding world?"

"Yes," said Anko.

Sarutobi remained silent for a long while thinking on the situation. "She will be safe here."

Anko breathed a sigh of relief.

"You will continue training her," said Sarutobi, "If she means so much to Harry then we cannot allow her to endanger the mission at Hogwarts. Now that she will be exposed to the village I expect she will spend every summer here both for her protection and Harry's. You have given me quite a mess to clean up."

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama," said Anko, "It won't happen again."

"And what will happen when Naruto finally chooses?" asked Sarutobi.

Anko paled slightly.

"Let us just hope that he has the sense to choose a shinobi," said Sarutobi harshly.

Anko didn't like being lectured by the old man. He rarely did it unless you really screwed up. She had just screwed up in the worst way possible and she knew it.

"You will also see to it that she does not suffer the same fate Naruto's grandmother suffered. Dismissed!"

**BREAK**

"You know, she's still gonna punish you," said Shikamaru with a sigh. He was itching to use his wand to enchant his chopsticks to feed him as he had often down in Hogwarts. Being back in the village required too much work.

"I know, but at least this way," said Naruto, "She'll know I'm serious."

"You also know that she's probably going to punish you more for bringing Ginny," said Shikamaru.

"Yeah, that one's gonna be rough," said Naruto, "I just hope she doesn't punish us as a team and prevent us from entering the Chuunin exam."

"I don't think she'll take it out on all of us," said Harry, "But I would be extra nice to her for the next few weeks just in case."

"Oh, I hope she doesn't punish you because of me," said Ginny.

"So what did you tell your parents exactly?" asked Naruto.

"I have been given a scholarship to a very prestigious summer exchange program," said Ginny, "They even got a very official looking letter."

"The twins?" asked Naruto.

"Of course," said Ginny, "I wish I knew they could forge letters sooner. I could have gotten them to forge me an early acceptance letter to Hogwarts."

Harry and Naruto both snorted at that thought.

"One more please," shouted Naruto holding up his empty bowl. The ramen man gave him another bowl with a big smile that he saved for his very best customers. Naruto got the noodles half-way to his mouth when he froze.

Naruto calmly set down his chopsticks and turned around, "And what the hell do you want?"

"So, the idiot brothers have returned," said a snide voice.

"Go to hell pretty boy," shouted Harry only to be retrained by Shikamaru's shadow.

"We don't want to cause a scene. We're already in hot water with Anko-sensei, let's not push it," said Shikamaru calmly.

"As if I'd waste my time on scum like you," said the same snide boy.

"Ah, Sasuke, finally graduated?" asked Naruto, "Only a year after us. Not bad."

Sasuke sneered, "Yeah, well while you two have run away from the village I've been here training and getting stronger. I've finished three C rank missions already and one B rank."

"Yeah, and I bet your Jounin instructor had to save your ass every time because you got yourself in trouble," said Naruto with a snort of laughter.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes before he smirked. "It's too bad really. Your team hasn't completed the minimum number of missions to take the Chuunin exam. I'll become Chuunin and the both of you will still be puny little Genin."

"Let me go Naruto," shouted Harry trying to go after him. Naruto tightened his grip on Harry shoulder and forced him back into his seat.

"Mission don't really matter you know. Besides, two A rank missions and one B rank should be more than enough to qualify us for the Chuunin exam," said Naruto barely keeping his anger from boiling over.

"Lying isn't a good habit," said Sasuke. He then zeroed in on Ginny smirking, "You guys add a team whore?"

With that comment Naruto let loose his grip on Harry despite knowing it wasn't a good idea.

Harry rushed in faster that Sasuke could see. He was halfway to unsheathing his sword when he received a rather harsh backhand knocking him into the ground with a painful crunch.

"Leave now Uchiha or next time I won't stop him," said a very cold woman's voice.

Sasuke looked completely panicked under the level of Killing intent that the woman was releasing at him. He took flight quickly.

"You idiot brats," she nearly shouted at the remaining youths.

"Sorry Anko-sensei," said Harry picking himself up slowly.

"I don't give a shit if you want to slice and dice that brat into a million pieces but you will not do it without authorization. Is that clear?" asked Anko.

"Yes, Anko-sensei," said Harry looking down.

"Good, now all of you come with me," said Anko walking off.

Harry, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Ginny all followed hot on her heels but not saying a word or uttering a sound.

She took them strangely enough to a flower shop.

"Ginny, you'll be staying here for the duration. I will come to collect you every morning. You are not to leave or wander around the village without Naruto, Harry, Shikamaru, or I with you at all times. You could not have picked a worse time to pull this, now you can suffer the consequences of your decision," said Anko coldly, "The family is the Yamanaka's. They have a daughter your age. She's a gossip so be very careful of everything you say. She will probably be more obsessed about talking about boys and what looks are in style. If she asks you anything about your family or where you are from you can simply tell her it's a secret and you're not allowed to talk about it. Now, go inside introduce yourself."

Anko opened the door and forcefully shoved Ginny inside and proceeded to slam the door shut.

"Now, you three come with me," said Anko with a massive amount of killer intent.

She took well outside the village to the farthest training grounds available. "Now, I'm going to beat the shit out of all of you and you will do nothing to defend yourselves or I will kill you."

They all knew well enough that this was a very old form of punishment that hadn't been used in a very long time. They would just have to take the punishment and hope for the best.

Almost two hours later all three were bloodied up, bruised, and left with several broken and dislocated bones. It was not a pleasant sight. Even Naruto's natural healing ability could not keep up with the damage wrought by Anko's fury.

"Now, you will help each other to the hospital. I'd better not see, hear, smell, or ever suspect that you are within a hundred meters of me for the next week or I will kill you," said Anko harshly before she vanished.

Naruto coughed up a blood bubble, "I think she punctured a lung.

"I don't think I can walk," said Shikamaru with out any sign of laziness, just pain and lots of it.

"I don't think any of us can," said Harry and he tried to stand but fell with a rather audible snapping sound signally another broken bone.

"I guess we're crawling," said Naruto.

"Why haven't you healed yet?" asked Harry.

"There is so much damage that all of my chakra is going to just keep me alive. I don't think I can safely tap into anymore of Kyubi's chakra without is killing me at this point," explained Naruto and he took his first excruciatingly painful one armed drag across the ground back towards Konoha and hopefully the hospital.

"We definitely pushed to far this time," said Shikamaru taking his own first painful crawl forward.

"I'm sorry guys, this is my fault," said Naruto.

"Yeah . . . it is," said Shikamaru, "But then, I knew what you were up to and did nothing to stop it even though I probably could have."

"So, do you think she'll still nominate us for the Chuunin exam?" asked Harry with a painful laugh and bit of coughed up blood.

"If she does, I'll stop being lazy for whole of the test," said Shikamaru thinking would never happen, especially after this incident.

After that followed a long nine and a half hour crawl to the hospital. They were smart enough to flat out refuse any help from any one that saw them for the simple fact that if word ever got back to Anko then they would be in ever worse trouble.

**BREAK**

Ginny entered the flower shop with some trepidation and completely unsure of what to expect. She was greeted by the most amazing smell of flowers ever. "Oh wow," she said as she rushed around smelling all the different breeds.

"Pretty amazing eh?" asked a girl with platinum blonde hair that reminded her strongly of Malfoy.

"Very nice," said Ginny trying to put her best foot forward, "I'm Weasley Ginny. Nice to meet you."

"Yamanaka Ino," the girl introduced herself, "The damn prettiest Kunoichi in the entire village."

The word 'vain' screamed through Ginny's head.

"And just so we can set some rules from the start. Sasuke-kun is off limits. He's mine and if I even catch you looking at him I'll kill you."

"The pretty boy?" asked Ginny, "You can have him. I haven't even been here a day and he's already called me a whore."

"Sasuke-kun would never say such a horrible thing about anyone," protested Ino, "He's too noble and cute and . . . his eyes are just so . . ." Ino started to drool at this point.

"Well he said it," said Ginny not liking this girl much, "He's just lucky Harry . . . –kun didn't cut him to pieces for it."

"Oh, so he was taunting Harry and Naruto no baka," said Ino, "Well that explains everything. There is no one in this entire village that gets under Sasuke-kun's skin the way Naruto and Harry do and visa versa. They've been at each other's throats since they were very little."

"That doesn't make it right for him to call me that," said Ginny.

Ino couldn't really argue with that but she couldn't attack Sasuke either. "Come on, I think we've go some ice cream in back."

It was a simple peace offering but it worked. After that followed a lot of gossiping and girl talk that every man on the planet would gouge his own eyes out and rip his own ears off to stop from ever hearing or seeing.

Anko collected Ginny as promised and took her out to the training fields to work her into complete exhaustion only to give her a soldier pill and do it again.

"Where are . . ."

"I don't even want to hear their names right now," said Anko cutting her off, "They are away from me and if they are smart they will stay away until I've had a chance to cool off completely. I don't like getting in trouble. I especially don't like getting lectured by the Hokage about my inability to control my subordinates. And what I hate more than anything, is knowing that I was wrong and I did fail and I definitely deserved that lecture. And while you might be the source of the problem, you are not the cause. They have been severely punished for overstepping their bounds and putting the village in danger not to mention your world. Now, enough talking and more working."

Ginny swallowed nervously as she took yet another soldier pill from Anko and began her training routine all over again. Ginny had never slept so soundly in her entire life as she did that night. It was only too bad that she was doused with freezing cold water the next day only to do it all over again.


	15. Chapter 15

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"Hello boys," said a wizened, tired old voice.

"Hey Ojisan," said Naruto weekly. They had all been in the hospital for a few days now. They were stabilized and awake though they were being forced to heal the slow way just to give them a chance to better avoid Anko-sensei.

Sarutobi didn't smile or even blink at the name Naruto used as he usually would have. As it was, he waited until the boys let it sink in that a rather severe lecture was coming to them to accentuate the punishment they had already received.

"I am sorry I had to order such a harsh punishment on you but what you boys did was close to treason. You brought someone from an outside faction within these walls without permission. Worse, you brought that person to a location of vital importance. I know that you trust her but I do not know her and had no way of knowing if she posed a threat or not. Your one foolish action could have destroyed our home or gotten a lot of people killed.

"I have been far too slack with you boys in the past. I've let you get away with things when you should have been punished. So I have myself to blame for this partially. However, that does not change the fact that you boys need to start taking this choice you've made seriously. You are shinobi first and children second. You can no longer afford to take such stupid risks where you endanger so many lives including the life of your friend.

"As you know, we are to host the Chuunin selection exam starting in two weeks. I had planned to personally nominate your team. But your actions in bringing that girl here show a serious lack of judgment. It shows me that you are a long way from being prepared to be Chuunin. So I am sorry, but you will not be earning the rank of Chuunin this time. However, should your sensei choose, I will allow you to participate in the exam itself as the experience would no doubt serve you well, though I would not count on that happening any time soon.

"I hope you boys take what I've said to heart today. There will not be a second lecture," said Sarutobi standing and leaving with a scowl still marring his face.

"We really screwed the pooch this time," said Harry sullenly.

"He was definitely pissed," said Shikamaru without a yawn.

"Ah, no big deal," said Naruto with a shrug earning him a look from his friends, "I don't care if we can't become Chuunin yet. It's not like we really would have passed anyway. Now we just have to move forward and push for the chance to just take the test."

"Didn't you listen to a word he just said?" asked Shikamaru in shock.

"Every word of it," said Naruto, "So we screwed up big time. We've been punished twice over for it now let's move on. I have no intention of letting this punishment rule my future and neither should either of you. Let's just accept that we screwed up and learn from it."

Harry smirked, "He's right you know."

Shikamaru couldn't help but sigh, "You two are so troublesome. I guess I'll just have make sure you don't get into trouble like that again."

Naruto and Harry smiled at that.

Little did they know but the Hokage was standing in the hall smiling to himself that they had resolved themselves so quickly. He didn't like punishing them so harshly but he knew they needed a slap in the face like this to wake them up to reality.

**BREAK**

"I'm so bored," complained Ginny as she watched over the flower shop while Ino was out training with her team. Anko-sensei finally gave her a day off of training and now she was stuck inside the flower shop. She hadn't seen any of the boys in almost a week now, which was really beginning to piss her off. Worse though was the fact that she was in another country, a world forbidden to her kind and she wasn't allowed to see any of it.

"They are going to pay for this when I get my hands on them," said Ginny to herself as she imagined beating them senseless with her 'Wizard no Jutsu'. She couldn't help but snicker as an after thought.

The bells for the jingled and Ginny monotonously said the welcome she was instructed to give, "Welcome to Yamanaka's Flowers. The best flowers in all of Konoha."

"Oh," shouted a voice snapping her wide awake, "You must say that with the power of youth and let your inner flames shine through brightly."

Ginny was stunned, then confused, and then she snickered. Standing before her was a boy, maybe a few years older than her, wearing a green leotard with Orange leg warmers. His hair was cut into a perfect bowl shape and it looked like he had two caterpillars sown above his eyes.

"Oh fairest flower maiden, you must shine brighter than all the stars in the sky," shouted the boy with hearts in his eyes, "For you I would run around Konoha 1000 times on my finger tips while juggling boulders with my feet if you would grace me with a date."

"Um, no," said Ginny flatly. The boy was funny but she was Harry's and that was the end of it.

"Tell me who it is I must defeat to capture your heart," shouted the boy loudly, "For he shall become my eternal rival for your affections."

Ginny by now couldn't hold in her laughter any longer. She laughed so hard she fell off the stool she was sitting on with a loud thump.

"Uh, Lee," said a female voice, "Not again. I told you to just buy the flowers quickly so that we can go."

"Oh but fair Tenten, I am Konoha's Noble Green Beast. I must let my youthful pride shine through and amaze every stunning creature of beauty that Konoha has to offer," shouted Lee.

Tenten couldn't take any more and clubbed him over the head, "Go wait outside."

"Hai," shouted Lee walking outside.

Tenten then noticed the laughing sound coming from behind the counter. He peaked over it to see the redhead laughing uncontrollably.

"Are you alright?" asked Tenten nervously.

"I've n . . . never laughed . . . so hard," said Ginny gasping for air between laughs.

"I guess he is a bit funny," said Tenten with a small smile.

"Is he always like that?" asked Ginny recomposing herself.

"Pretty much, some time I just wish I had a mute button for him," said Tenten with a snicker.

Now Ginny didn't know what a mute button was but she understood the word 'mute' just fine. This got her to laugh again as she picture Lee still going on with his talking even though he was silenced and not knowing the difference.

"So, I'm Tenten."

"Ginny, nice to meet you."

"So, how did Ino con you into working here today?" asked Tenten.

"Oh, well, the Yamanaka's are housing me for the summer so I'm expected to help out whenever Ino is away on a mission or something," explained Ginny.

"Well in that case, can I please just get some lilies," said Tenten, "Our sensei lost another challenge to Kakashi-san and now he's in the hospital for crawling across hot coals in only his boxers."

"Are he and Lee related?" asked Ginny picturing an older Lee with bigger eyebrows.

"You would think so to look at them," said Tenten, "But there is no actual genetic proof, and believe me, we've had them tested. But they don't know that so if you could just keep quiet about that."

"No problem," said Ginny with a smile and nod. She had no idea what Tenten meant about testing and genetics.

"Hey, if you're free later maybe we could gather up all the Kunoichi and show you around some," said Tenten.

"I'd love to but I'll have to check with Anko-sensei. She's kind of in charge of me while I'm visiting," said Ginny with a pout knowing the answer would be a definite no.

"Great, we'll pick you up at seven, tell Ino," said Tenten leaving with her order in hand.

"Oh, it's just not fair," complained Ginny banging her head on the counter several times.

"What's not fair brat?" asked the harsh voice of a slightly inebriated Anko.

Ginny looked at the clock. It wasn't even noon yet and her sensei was drunk. Worse than that, it meant that Ginny's training got blown off so her teacher could get drunk. "You're drunk."

"Only a little bit," said Anko, "Give me a few hours and then I'll be really drunk."

Ginny growled, "This isn't fair. You're out getting drunk while I'm stuck here with nothing to do but watch the flowers."

"Sucks to be you," teased Anko with a playful smile.

"Let me go out tonight," said Ginny, "The young Kunoichi are going to go out tonight and they invited me along. Please let me go. I promise I won't say anything about home. Please let me go out. I haven't seen _them_ in almost a week and I just need to get out for a bit."

"Fine, go, but if you screw up I'll kill you," said Anko with a laugh and a slight slur. Somehow though, Ginny got the feeling that Anko really would kill her if she screwed up.

**BREAK**

"Finally," shouted Naruto as the seals locking the bed restraints were release followed by the restraints themselves being undone, "I'm free! Free at last!"

"He is way too excited about this," said Shikamaru with a yawn.

"Yeah well, when you've been done healing for three days and strapped down to a bed anyway let's see if you're not excited to leave?" said Naruto as he bounced around on his feet.

"Personally," said Shikamaru in a bored tone, "I say leave me tied down with a view of the clouds any day if means I don't have to do anything."

"You have got to seriously be the laziest bastard alive," said Harry as he sprang free from his prison, also known as his hospital bed.

"Not since we got back," said Shikamaru, "I have to do so much more work now."

"Aw, poor baby," said Harry with a baby face, "Is someone going through laziness withdrawals?"

"I think so," said Shikamaru with a slight twitch as he had to lift his hand to push a table out of his way.

"So, a week has passed, do you think it's safe to see Anko-sensei again?" asked Naruto.

"Do you think it will be safe to see Ginny?" asked Harry as he realized that Ginny probably didn't know what happened to them and was probably really pissed off by now.

"Anko-sensei is probably going to be safer than Ginny right now," added Shikamaru, "Still, I'd make sure we are fully capable of running away before we try to approach either of them."

"Good idea," said Naruto, "So how about we get some ramen?"

"I'm game," said Harry licking his lips greedily.

"I supposed I'd better come along to make sure you don't get yourselves into trouble," said Shikamaru as his stomach rumbled slightly betraying himself, yet Naruto and Harry said nothing about it beyond smirking ever so slightly.

"Come on already," said Naruto anxious to get his hands on some of the warm and delicious noodle-goodness.

Thirty plus bowls later all the boys were sated and comfortable.

"Now, let's see about working out the stiffness from being imprisoned for so long," suggested Naruto patting his stomach happily.

"Eh, I should probably go home and see my mother," said Shikamaru, "It will be troublesome if I don't."

"See yah Shadow," said Harry before he leapt for a roof top.

"Don't let her bug you too much," said Naruto giving his cousin chase.

"Such a troublesome team," said Shikamaru with a yawn and a sigh as he headed for home.

Shikamaru walked a lazy walk on his way home. He would idly glance around to see if anything changed since the last time he'd been home. He was happy to see it was still the same old village. There were a few new signs on different business and a new coat of paint on some of the houses and buildings but all in all it hadn't changed much at all.

Shikamaru slid open the door to his house and lazily entered closing the door behind, "I'm back," he called lazily through the house. He could smell his mother's cooking coming from the kitchen. Looking at his pocket watch he guessed that his parents were just finishing dinner.

"Shikamaru," shouted his mother with tears of joy as she rushed him and embraced him in a very troublesome hug.

"Troublesome," said Shikamaru trying to think of a way to get himself free of his mother but finding no way that wouldn't involve a more troublesome situation.

"Welcome home son," said Shikato from a spot down the hall where he was leaning against the wall.

"Hey pops," said Shikamaru ignoring his mother blathering on.

"Good year?" asked Shikato.

"Troublesome, but good," said Shikamaru with a slight smirk that earned him a broad smile from his father.

"Good to hear," said Shikato, "Hope you're ready to be up early for training in the morning. I'd like to see how much you've grown."

"Sure, but first do you think you could free me from mom?" asked Shikamaru.

Shikato laughed heartily but just waved as his son as he returned to the kitchen and his dinner.

"So troublesome," said Shikamaru with a sigh.

**BREAK**

"So Ginny, you ready?" asked Ino.

"Hell yeah," said Ginny excited to finally be getting set free to see the village with people her own age. "So, how many of us will there be?"

"Five," said Ino, "You and me plus Sakura, also know as Big Forehead Girl, Hinata, super shy but super cute, and Tenten, she's one tough customer."

"Sounds unique," said Ginny with a slight laugh.

"You have no idea," said Ino with a laugh, "So come on, let's go."

Ginny nodded and followed the girl across town to an enormous compound of some kind.

"This is the Hyuga Estate," explained Ino, "Hinata lives here with her clan."

Ino didn't even have the chance to knock on the main gate before it was opened and a small bluish-purple hair girl rushed out.

"The thing about Hyuga's is they can literally see through walls," said Ino.

"Ano, I hope you didn't have to wait long," said the girl with a slight stutter.

Ginny was slightly caught off guard by the girls nearly completely white eyes. But then she remembered Ino telling her that the girl could see through walls. She figured the white eyes must be a side effect of that.

"Right on time Hinata," said Ino with a smile, "In fact we were a bit early."

"Ano, sorry," she stuttered nervously.

"Anyway, this is Ginny," said Ino, "She staying in the village for the summer while her parents are away visiting relatives."

"Nice to meet you," stuttered Hinata as she bowed deeply to Ginny.

Ginny smiled at the obviously very nervous girl, "Nice to meet you to." Ginny then bowed just as deeply.

"Ahk," shouted Ino, "Stop being so formal both of you. Sheesh! We're out to party tonight so relax and let's have a bit of fun."

"Gomen," stuttered Hinata again.

"Let's just go," said Ino leading the way to their next destination.

The three girls entered a small yakiniku shop where they were greeted by Tenten and another girl.

"Ino-pig," said the pink haired girl.

"Forehead-girl," said Ino coldly.

"Are they rivals or something?" asked Ginny in a whisper to Hinata.

"Yes," stuttered Hinata, "They both like Sasuke. It's gotten worse since Sakura was put on Sasuke's team."

"Ah," said Ginny with a nod to the shy girl, "I noticed you didn't say Sasuke-kun like the other girls. Does that mean you're not interested?"

"No," said Hinata before she got a far away look in her eyes.

"Oh, so does that mean you like someone else?" asked Ginny with mischievous grin.

Hinata suddenly blushed horribly red. So much so that it would have put any of her brothers or even herself to shame.

"Oh please," said Ino, "Everyone in the village knows that she has a huge crush on Naruto no baka."

Hinata's eyes widened and started stuttering incoherently.

"Oh, so you like Naruto huh?" asked Ginny with a smirk, "Too bad he's too much of a baka to ever notice."

"You know the baka?" asked Sakura.

"His team was assigned to watch out for me this summer," said Ginny before she looked to Ino, "That's why Anko comes by every morning for me."

"Then why haven't Naruto, Harry, or Shikamaru ever come to get you?" asked Ino.

"Well, I guess they got into some pretty big trouble," said Ginny, "Anko-san won't talk about it except to mutter incoherently and curse a few times as well as threaten death upon them if she sees them again."

"Figures," said Sakura, "Naruto no baka and Harry no baka are always getting into trouble. They are always playing some stupid prank too. It's about time they got punished for it."

Ginny didn't like this girl much at all, "They're not too bad. Their pranks are really funny too. And Harry's got really nice eyes," Ginny blushed on the last one quite heavily.

"Oh ho ho," said Ino with a gleam in her eyes, "Does someone have feelings for Harry-kun?"

Ginny blushed even worse under the scrutiny of the other girls. She was just thankful that Hinata was still blushing just as heavily.

"Yeah, well better to have a crush on Harry and Naruto than on the pretty 'obnoxious' boy Sasuke," said Tenten aiding the poor blushing girls. That seemed to shut the others up completely.

Soon the girls embraced a large amount of picking at food followed by gossip and talking about the latest in Kunoichi fashions and of course more boy talk.

Ginny had a lot of fun with the girls. They were all pretty normal if not very deadly. Even Hinata loosened up a little bit the more Ginny talked to her. By the end of the night Ginny had made it her personal mission to give Hinata a chance with Naruto even if it meant she had to use the imperious curse to do it.

**BREAK**

"Yo," greeted Naruto to a still very angry looking Anko.

Anko checked her watch. It had been a little more than a week since she had last seen them. Currently though, she was mulling over whether or not that had been enough time for her anger for her errant students to calm to a satisfactory level. "Did you learn your lesson?"

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment, "I'm sorry I chose to act rashly and without thinking things through too well. I suppose I should start taking things much more seriously with regards to the rules, especially those rules put in place for the protection of our village and its people."

"Good boy," said Anko with a small smile, "I don't ever want to be forced into giving you three such a punishment again. Now, I assume that you've received your second punishment from the Hokage?"

"Yeah," said the trio disappointedly.

"Good, then it will make things much easier. I'll give you all the choice of whether or not to participate in the exam. You know the dangers so it will be your decision," said Anko simply.

"Of course we'll take it," shouted Harry, "We need the experience more than anything else, and whether or not we pass doesn't really matter at this point."

"And what about the examinees that you will no doubt eliminate from the exam by participating?" asked Anko, "Have you no concern or care for those you will crush or kill despite your inability to pass?"

"If the fall to us, then they have no business in the exam at all," said Naruto adamantly.

"What about you Shikamaru? Are you just going to follow along with these two baka?"

"This is so troublesome," said Shikamaru, "If I take the exam, I could get killed. But if I refuse, my teammates could end up getting killed without me. I suppose I'll go along to keep them out of trouble."

"You're all baka," said Anko with a slight smirk, "If I'm lucky you'll all die and my assignment will be over."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Naruto with a similar smirk, "You know that deep down you love us." Naruto then noticed the look of loathing and hatred that marred her features, "Very, very, _very_ deep down."

"The only thing I love is Dango, killing, and sex and you're much too young for me to legally enjoy the third thing," said Anko, "But don't worry, a few years from now. You boys will be fair pickings."

The three all swallowed nervously after that threat.

"Now, you have a week before the exam begins," said Anko, "We'll train a bit everyday but you'll be mostly responsible for training yourselves as I now have to baby-sit our guest, no thanks to you."

"Let's get to it then," shouted Harry excitedly. He was later regretting those words, apparently Anko-sensei still held a bit of resentment towards them for their little stunt.

It was on their journey, limping, back to the village to recover that Harry finally crossed paths with Ginny. She wasn't very happy with him.

"You bastards," shouted Ginny when she saw the three limping along.

"Hey Ginny," said Naruto with a stupid smile.

"This is going to be even more troublesome," said Shikamaru to himself.

Harry though probably did the smartest thing he could have done. He rushed forward and wrapped her in a powerful hug, "I've missed you."

Ginny's anger instantly vanished in that instant as embarrassment took over. She suddenly noticed her surroundings, namely Ino smirking at her. "Put me down," Ginny snapped smacking his shoulders lightly.

"Yes ma'am," said Harry placing her back on her feet, "I'm sorry we haven't been around but we've been on punishment from Anko-sensei. How are you finding the village?"

"Well, if it weren't for Ino I think I would have gone insane weeks ago," said Ginny trying to be angry with him but failing miserably.

"Well then, thank you Ino for looking after her," said Harry with a smile at the platinum blonde.

Ino blushed slightly but waved him off, "Nah, forget it. No harm no foul. What was your punishment anyway?"

"Other than hiding from Anko-sensei for a week?" asked Naruto.

"Well yeah," said Ino as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Hokage-sama ordered the old punishment," said Shikamaru earning a gasp from Ino.

"What the hell did you do?" she asked still wide eyed.

"It doesn't matter," said Naruto, "It was worth the punishment so let's leave it at that and I would appreciate it if you didn't explain the old punishment to Ginny. She doesn't need to know."

Ino nodded but was unsure as to why she couldn't tell Ginny, but then again the village had to maintain its secrets.

"What? Why not?" complained Ginny.

"Because it won't make a difference and will only upset you," said Harry with a smile at the vivacious redhead.

Ginny pouted, "Awe, come on, tell me."

"Fine, the Hokage said we're allowed to take the Chuunin exam but we will not pass no matter how well we do," said Shikamaru lying easily.

"And that's only if Anko-sensei nominates us," said Naruto with an impish grin, "Which she has."

"But that's not fair," said Ginny unhappily, "It was my fault. You shouldn't be punished like that."

"No Ginny," said Shikamaru, "The fault was ours. We could have prevented it from happening and we didn't. It doesn't really matter though. We'll take the exam and gain the experience."

"So, you'll be taking the exam anyway?" asked Ino with devious glint in her eyes.

"Yeah and it is going to be really troublesome if one of us dies or is injured," complained Shikamaru, "But these two baka just can't refuse."

"Well then I guess I'll see you there," said Ino.

"You're taking the exam?" asked Harry, "Who is on your team?"

"I'm teamed with Choji and Sasuke-kun," said Ino with hearts in her eyes.

"Lucky you," said Naruto sarcastically, "So do you know of any other teams competing?"

"Well, there Hinata, Kiba, and Shino and Tenten, Lee, and Neji's teams," said Ino, "Sakura can't compete this year. She's in the Medic-nin training program. So the next time a team is in need of one more she will probably fill the spot. That's all that I know of but there will probably be more from older years."

"Sweet," said Naruto excitedly, "This is going to be so much fun. I can't wait."

**BREAK**

Naruto, Harry and Shikamaru met the morning of the exam outside the academy building as they were instructed by Anko to do.

"Where do we go again Shikamaru?" asked Naruto.

"Room 301," said Shikamaru with a heavy yawn. He didn't like having to wake up so early in the morning, especially since he was still sore from training with his old man and Anko-sensei.

"Right let's go," said Naruto excitedly as he led the way into the building.

The trio came across a rather large gaggle of Shinobi trying to enter room 301 but being denied by a pair of Chuunin. At the door Naruto paused and looked behind him at the stairs, "Did I miss something?"

Shikamaru yawned and just walked past him and the group of Shinobi. Harry and Naruto both shrugged and followed after him. It was a bit of a surprise when they went up another flight of stairs to arrive at another room labeled 301.

"So that was a Genjutsu," said Naruto simply. He knew something was wrong but he just couldn't pinpoint the problem. He was actually beginning to get a bit upset with himself for falling for such a simple Genjutsu. Especially considering that Genjutsu was his god of pranks, for without it, he would be lost. "When this is over I'm going to have to spend more time learning to see through Genjutsu."

"Me too," said Harry, "We might be good at setting them up but to be caught in one so simple is almost . . . insulting."

Shikamaru just yawned as he finally pushed open the door. Inside were dozens of Shinobi, all from different nations. And they didn't look to happy at seeing the young trio enter. Naruto observed that most of them were much older than he was. He couldn't help but wonder why.

"Yo, you baka made it," shouted a familiar voice followed by a familiar bark.

"Hey, it's Akamaru and his pet boy," said Harry with a grin that earned a scowl from Kiba and a happy yip from Akamaru.

"Akamaru, best be careful with your pet there. He doesn't seem fully trained," said Naruto adding to the joke earning him a slight giggle from the purple haired Genin standing next to him.

"Oh, hey there Hinata," said Naruto with his normal foxy grin. Hinata naturally blushed horrifically red with embarrassment.

"Did you have to pick a fight?" yelled an obnoxious voice from behind Naruto, Harry and Shikamaru. It was Ino yelling at Sasuke.

Sasuke it seemed was really unhappy as he nursed a bruise that was beginning to form on his cheek and as such just sneered at the girl.

"Today of all days. You just had to pick a fight with spandex wearing weirdo and worse you just had to get your ass handed to you. What is that going to say about team Sasu-Ino-Cho?" complained the blonde Kunoichi.

Behind the pair Choji followed along ignoring the pair as he continued to munch on his chips.

"You might want to quiet down," suggested a silver haired teen that approached the group, "Those men over there are from Rain country. They get upset easily and the fact that ones as young as yourselves are making such a scene is even more upsetting to those who have taken this exam before."

"Who the hell are you to chide me?" complained Ino.

"You really should be quiet," warned the young man.

"I'll yell all I damn well please. If they want to start something then let them. Team Sasu-Ino-Cho can take them. Hell, Sasuke-kun could take them on his own," shouted Ino upsetting a lot of the present shinobi even further.

"Harry, shut her up," said Naruto in barely a whisper.

Harry carefully slid his wand out of his sleeve from a concealed holster. He silently cast a silencing charm on the girl ceasing her ranting instantly though her mouth continued to move. Then just as quickly he his wand from view.

"Oh thank god," said Sasuke much to the surprise of all the rookie Genin, "I never thought she'd shut up. Whoever did that needs to teach me how."

Naruto, Harry, Kiba, and Choji all laughed heartily after that comment. It wasn't everyday that one got to see the last Uchiha express himself.

"Sorry, trade secrets," said Harry with a glint in his eyes as he stared Sasuke down.

Suddenly the old Sasuke was back, "As if I'd want to ever learn anything from you."

Meanwhile Ino was still ranting on not realizing that she no longer had a voice. It was quite comical to everyone in the room.

"So you've taken this test before?" asked Choji to the silver haired Genin.

"This is my seventh time taking the test," said the Genin, "I'm Kabuto by the way."

"So can you tell us anything about the other examinees?" asked Shino in his usual quiet and calm voice.

"Yeah, I've got these nin-info cards," said Kabuto showing the Genin a deck of what looked like playing cards, "I have all kinds of info in these cards."

"What about specific people?" asked Sasuke interested for the first time.

"Sure, if you can tell me about them," said Kabuto.

"Gaara of the Desert, Rock Lee, Uzumaki Naruto, and Potter Harry," listed off Sasuke glaring at the latter two.

"You know their names?" asked Kabuto in surprise, "Then this will be easily."

Kabuto quickly pulled out four cards and channeled a bit of Chakra into them.

"Gaara of the Desert, nothing too significant beyond the fact that he's completed all of his missions without getting a single scratch. There's even an A rank mission on here," said Kabuto slightly impressed before he took up the next card, "Rock Lee, he was dead last in his year at the Academy. But in the almost two years since he graduated his Taijutsu skills have gone off the chart. He's got a pretty decent number of missions under his belt as does the rest of his team but nothing above C-Rank."

"Potter Harry," said Kabuto pull up the next card. He studied it for a minute before whistling, "Two S-rank mission, one A-rank mission and thirteen D-Rank missions. Beyond that though, I have no information on him other than him being a student of Mitarashi Anko. She used to be a student of one of the Sannin."

"What about his skills?" asked Sasuke interestedly.

"I'm sorry, it's all question marks," said Kabuto, "Sometimes that happens if the person hasn't been around too often or their mission is so overly classified that I can't get a hold of the information."

"Fine," snorted Sasuke, "Do you have anything on Uzumaki Naruto?"

Kabuto pulled up the last card only to see it was blank much to his surprise, "It's blank. That mean's there isn't an Uzumaki Naruto in the Village or he's from another village and I've never heard of him before."

"No, he's a leaf Nin," said Sasuke pointing a finger at Naruto who just smile in a way that said I'm never gonna tell.

"Did he change his name at any time?" asked Kabuto.

"Kazama," said Kiba, "I almost forgot. Last year when we saw them, we found out that he took his family name. Kazama Naruto."

Suddenly a huge amount of killer intent leaked through the room originating from all of the Tsuchi-nin and Rai-nin.

"Baka," complained Naruto to Kiba not noticing that he along with all the other rookie Genin were paralyzed with fear. Only he, Harry and Shikamaru seemed unaffected.

"Kazama," stuttered Kabuto an obvious amount of fear in his own eyes at hearing the name. "It's not possible. There can't be any of them left alive." He quickly started checking his cards and pulled out one and channeled a bit of Chakra into it to reveal the information. "Kazama Naruto, erroneous information," he read off the top the rest of the card was empty. He'd simply disregarded the information as erroneous and didn't complete his profiling of it because it was so obviously false.

Naruto finally turned to face the room, "That's right you punks. My name is Kazama Naruto, the last of the Kazama line. Mess with me and you'll find exactly why my father was so damned feared." After stating as much he pulled out two tri-pointed Kunai that he'd inherited from his father, the seals still showing intact on the handle.

The killing intent faded from the Stone and Cloud shinobi to be replaced by a large amount of fear. Two teams quit in that instant, simply walking out of the room. One from Stone and one from Cloud, no doubt they were the lowest level team and were told before hand that if any information that was vital to the village was discovered they were to quit immediately and return to the village with the information. Finding out that there was still one of the Kazama Clan still living would definitely qualify as vital information.

Naruto snorted once before twirling the two kunai and silently slipping them back into his hidden stash. Just because he was terrified to try the technique didn't mean he wasn't prepared to use it if things ever got dicey.

Naruto turned back to his friends only to see stunned looks and the boy Kabuto to have vanished.

"What?" he asked.

"Just who the hell are you?" asked Kiba brashly, "Why in the hell did the room get so damn angry when they heard your name and why did that killing intent get replaced by an extreme amount of fear when you brandished those two weird looking kunai?"

"My father was greatly feared by both Stone and Cloud village. During the Third Great Shinobi War, my father wrought a level of devastation upon them that ended the war in less than a month. He ended it with one technique. Those kunai are a reminder to those villages," explained Naruto calmly.

"That still doesn't make sense," said Kiba, "If your father was so powerful then why has no one ever heard of the name Kazama or of the Kazama clan?"

"That's because no one ever calls him by his name when he's talked about," said Naruto deciding he'd had enough. He was just lucky that the examiner decided to arrive and end the discussion.


	16. Chapter 16

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"Okay you bastards," shouted the voice of a grizzled man wearing a black bandana with the Leaf Village symbol etched on steel plate attached to it. "Shut the hell up and listen close 'cause I'm only going to explain this once. I'm Morino Ibiki. Each of you miscreant flesh bags is going to line up with your team and come collect a written exam from me or one of my associates. You're then going to sit your putrid smelling, shit ridden asses down in the seat that is assigned on the test form. There ten possible points on the test, if we catch you cheating you lose a point. After you lose five points you'll be asked to leave or we'll extricate you from this building with extreme prejudice. Beyond that, you have to score all ten points to pass the exam. Now stop your gawk and get a damn exam form!"

The room in general didn't think twice about following orders.

Naruto, Harry and Shikamaru were spread throughout the room. Shikamaru was smart enough to answer the questions on his own. Harry and Naruto though, was another thing.

_I am so screwed,_ thought Naruto as he read the questions on the exam. _Why did it always have to be some damn written test? I can do this stuff blind folded and backwards but you ask me to put it on paper and I'm useless you son of a bitch._

Harry meanwhile was trying to figure out a way to cheat without getting caught. A few quick hand seals under his desk followed by a very quiet 'Kuchiyose no Jutsu' and Harry had the perfect spy.

Meanwhile Naruto had reduced himself to the age old, tried and true method of banging his head against the table until the answers came to him. So far it wasn't working very well. It was quite welcome when his hand started moving on it's own to fill in the test only a very fine shadow connected to it. _Thank you Shikamaru,_ thought Naruto.

Soon the time limit expired and it was time for the tenth question.

"Alright you sons of bitches, listen up," growled out the head examiner, "Time for the tenth question, but there is an additional rule. You can choose whether or not to take the question."

"And what happens if we choose not to take it?" asked the blonde girl from Suna.

"You can just walk out of here," said Ibiki, "However, if you take the question and fail it, you'll forever be stuck as a Genin."

"What? But that's not fair. There are others here who've taken the test before," shouted the same blonde girl.

"Well that's just your bad luck see. This is the first year I've given this test so I make the rules here," Ibiki forcefully, "So decide now and forever seal your fate."

Naruto was about to stand up and yell at the bastard when his mouth was held shut tightly and he couldn't stand from his seat. It seemed Shikamaru was keeping him silent. When he looked to Harry he noticed that Harry was in the same predicament.

Slowly the numbers thinned as Shinobi left the room followed by the banishment of their teammates. The room was soon thinned down enough to satisfy Ibiki.

"Good, now for the twelve teams that remain, you pass," said Ibiki coldly.

"What?" shouted the same blonde girl, "What the hell do you mean we pass?"

"The tenth question was about whether you were willing to put it all on the line to become a Chuunin. Shinobi can't be afraid of the 'what-ifs'. Now, the next examiner should be arriving shortly. So all of you shut the hell up and sit down."

And so they waited . . . and waited . . . and waited . . . and waited some more. Finally three hours had passed without anyone showing up.

"What the hell is with you goddamn leaf shinobi? First your messed up exam now the next examiner has left us sitting here for three hours," shouted a shinobi with a stone headband on.

Suddenly there was a puff of smoke at the front of the room. Standing there was a man of average height with hair that stood up at an impossible angle. He had one eye cover by his forehead protector and he had a mask covering the rest of his face. In his hands was a little orange book. "Sorry I'm late. You see there was this little old lady and she needed help across the street with her groceries. I decided to help but then a black cat crossed our path so we decided to take the long way around the village. Unfortunately along the way she slipped and broke her hip so I had to take to the hospital but the same black cat cross our path again so I had to take an even longer way around. After that . . ." he just kept going on and on about misfortune after misfortune that kept befalling him and the little old lady. All of the Genin in the room just stared in disbelief. ". . . so anyway. Now that I'm here, my name is Hatake Kakashi and I'll be the examiner for the second round. Please meet me outside restricted area 44 in one hour." He then disappeared again in a cloud of smoke.

Ibiki just sat at his desk shaking his head in disbelief.

"Okay, Scarecrow man has got to go," said Naruto to the room in general, all of which surprisingly nodded their heads in agreement.

**BREAK**

Five hours later the Jounin Hatake Kakashi had finally showed up at the gates of area 44. He started giving another of his lame excuses when the entire assembly yelled at him 'LIAR!'

"Anyway, this is Area 44, lovingly known as the 'Forest of Death'. You'll have to sign a waiver so that we're not liable if you end up dead. Hmm, what else am I forgetting . . . oh yeah, this will be a survival competition. Team vs. Team. Your objective is to get a complete set of scrolls. Each team gets one scroll marked either Heaven or Earth. You'll have five days to get both scrolls and arrive to the central tower." He then looked at his watch and widened his single eye, "My goodness, we've been talking a long time. You guys should have started three hours ago. Best hurry up and collect your scrolls and get to your assigned gates."

The killer intent that raged toward the Jounin from the Genin was rather intense. Grudgingly each team collected their scroll, signed the waiver, and proceeded to their assigned gates.

It was another hour before the gate finally opened.

Inside the forest dark things were brewing.

"What news have you for me Kabuto-kun?" asked a terrifying voice.

"The Uchiha is here," said Kabuto, "But you have nothing to fear from his team. He'll be easy pickings for you my lord."

"Good, good," said Orochimaru with a sinister grin. Somehow it just didn't look right on the borrowed face.

"Sir, I have other news that may interest you," said Kabuto with a hint of fear for his master's reaction.

Orochimaru observed his pitiful servant. Somehow he got the impression that he was about to be upset greatly, "Tell me."

"Sir, it would appear that there was a survivor of the Kazama clan," said Kabuto. He'd barely finished the last word when he was struck hard enough to send him bodily into one of the thick forest trees.

"NO!" screamed the man in rage and anger, "NO! HOW? HOW? TELL ME HOW ONE STILL LIVES?"

"I don't know my lord," said Kabuto fearing for his life, "But he is here, in this exam."

"Where is he?" demanded the Snake Lord.

"My lord, forgive me for saying this, but you must concentrate on Sasuke-kun," said Kabuto hoping he hadn't overstepped his bounds, "Please allow me to take care of him."

Orochimaru studied his pitiful servant for a moment. "Fine, but if he lives past this exam, your life will be sacrificed to Manda."

"As you wish Orochimaru-sama," said Kabuto kneeling down in a very formal bow.

"Now be gone with you, I have other things to deal with now," said Orochimaru disappearing into the shadows.

Kabuto couldn't help breathing out a sigh of relief. He'd been threatened by Orochimaru plenty of times in the past but this was much different. If he failed this time he would not be able to plead for his life. No, he only had one choice, to succeed at all costs.

**BREAK**

"You do realize that every Stone and Cloud shinobi in this exam is now going to be coming after us with a fury. They might have been a bit afraid of whatever technique used those funky kunai, but that isn't going to stop them from trying," said an annoyed Shikamaru.

"I know," said Naruto, "That's why we're going to get to that damn tower as fast as possible and lay an ambush. We'll just have to hope that we get lucky."

"Not likely," said Shikamaru, "But it's a nice thought. This is going to be troublesome but you're right, it is our best chance at an easy victory."

"Don't I get any input?" asked Harry annoyed.

"Fine, what do you think?" asked Shikamaru looking pointedly at Harry.

"Your plan sounded good," said Harry with a grin trying to lighten the mood.

"Right then," said Shikamaru with a yawn, "Drop your weights. We're going to travel my way."

Naruto and Harry both raised a nervous eyebrow at Shikamaru.

"Is that safe?" asked Naruto.

Shikamaru shrugged as he peeled off his weight tags, "Safer than trying to run through the forest otherwise."

Harry and Naruto sighed as they too began to peel off their weight tags.

"Now make sure you have a good grip on me," said Shikamaru as he put his hands together in the deer seal, something unique to his family and specifically to these particular Jutsu.

Naruto and Harry both got a solid grip on Shikamaru. No moments later the shadows crawled up around them completely engulfing them. It was as if they were in a tunnel of darkness moving rapidly towards a bright light at the end of the tunnel. It took maybe thirty minutes to make the trip to the light where they emerged just outside the central tower.

As soon as they did Shikamaru collapsed breathing heavily and nearly out of Chakra, "Oh that was too much. It's up to you two now." Shikamaru then fell backwards to the waiting grass to welcome him into unconsciousness.

"Come on," said Naruto lifting Shikamaru over his shoulder, "Let's get him somewhere safe and out of sight."

Harry nodded as he leapt high into the canopy above. They settled Shikamaru into a deep hollow where one of the branches met with the trunk. Naruto laid a rather elaborate Genjutsu over Shikamaru and the scroll they left with him. If anyone passed by they would only see a rather large knot in the tree. He would be safe for the time being.

"Now to lay the traps," said Harry with a grin.

"See, this is why I love playing pranks," said Naruto with a gleeful grin.

An hour later their traps were laid. It would take someone of at least Chuunin level to get through safely and even then they may not make it, especially with Naruto's sealing techniques added to it.

Harry and Naruto positioned themselves in a pincer position on either side of the alley they created. The traps they laid were designed to drive their opponents directly toward them.

There was a loud explosion signaling that someone had already entered the alley leading right to them. The opponents were taking a very long time to come forward. At one point Harry and Naruto wondered if perhaps they were already dead. They weren't reassured when there was another explosion getting closer to them. Any Genin would have been running full boar by now to get out of the death trap but this team. They were slow and deliberate about it making Naruto and Harry a bit nervous.

Finally three emerged. They were easily recognized by both Naruto and Harry as the team from Suna: the loud blonde Kunoichi, the boy in the make-up and the boy with the giant gourd, Sabaku no Gaara. And none of them looked particularly happy. The blonde girl had smoke coming off of her burnt pig tails. She was covered in smudges of soot and burn marks. The boy was now missing his makeup and was drenched from head to toe. His suit sported several new holes as well as rips and cuts. But the one that really worried them was the boy Gaara. He didn't have a scratch on him, he just looked really annoyed.

"Now how the hell did he make it through that untouched?" wondered Naruto scratching his head. Suddenly he could feel Kyubi tensing within him. There was an epic battle coming and they knew it.

Naruto stood from his position and vanished in a burst of yellow light. He reappeared before the trio.

"You've managed to survive," said Naruto cockily, "Too bad you're going to lose here."

Gaara widened his eyes at the confidence of this boy despite the heavy killing intent he was directing at the blonde before him.

Harry appeared behind the group of three, "Looks like the plan's changed."

"It happens," said Naruto with a shrug taking his eyes off the opponents for only a second.

That was all the time Gaara needed. Rapidly his sand engulfed Naruto. "Sabaku Kyuu," the sand complete surrounded him. "Sabaku Sousou," he said closing his fist only to meet with resistance. He couldn't finish the technique. No, it was more than that, his sand could not crush the boy.

"Rah," screamed Naruto causing the sand to burst outwards from around him as he was enveloped in a red glowing chakra. "Harry, you take the other two. Sand boy here is mine."

The two siblings on either side of Gaara were terrified. Gaara's attack had never failed . . . ever.

"Take him," said Gaara, "This one is mine. Mother will like him. She wants him. She wants to taste his blood."

"Oh no," whispered the boy in black, "He's already started dialoguing. Temari, we need to get out of here."

"Come on Kankuro," said Temari, "We'd best do as he says."

"To hell with that," shout Kankuro, "I'm getting the fuck out of here and if you were smart you'd do the same." Kankuro then ran for it. He didn't care about passing this exam. He was more concerned with staying alive.

"Coward," complained Temari. Inside she wanted nothing more than to run away with him but at the same time she couldn't in good conscious leave her brother behind, especially with so much at stake.

Harry didn't care about the one running away. He'd worry about him later. For now this girl was his concern. He drew his sword from behind him slowly.

"Harry, get some distance from us," said Naruto, "This is going to get big."

Harry didn't spare him a glance. He knew if Naruto asked him to do that then it was for the best. Harry quickly darted into the tree canopy above to get out of Naruto's way.

Temari followed up after him with a smirk on her face. The air was her domain and this boy was about to learn why that was.

Harry though had his own agenda in getting higher up. It gave him more room to slither about with so many branches to move along.

The two soon settle higher up a fair distance from Naruto and Gaara. They stood on rather broad branches opposite each other.

"You and your teammate should have run away," she stated calmly, "Now, we'll be lucky if any of us survive."

"Sand boy scares you that much eh?" asked Harry, "Well, if he scares you that much then he must be dangerous."

"You don't know what you're messing with," said Temari, "He really is a demon."

"A demon you say?" asked Harry curiously. The more information he could get out of this girl the better.

"He holds a demon within," said Temari with a distant look, "He's already talking to it. It won't be long before it comes out and then none of us will survive."

"Hey, that's kind of interesting," said Harry with an amused look, "Hey, do you want to put our fight on hold and watch them go at it?"

Temari dropped her jaw slightly, "Are you mad? He has a demon within him."

"Yeah, so?" asked Harry not really seeing the problem, "It's not like he has a ten tailed demon in him . . . does he?"

"What are talking about?" asked Temari, "His demon is the one tailed sand demon Shukaku."

"Oh," said Harry with a grin, "Only one tail. I thought I'd actually have to worry about Naruto for a second there."

"It's a bloody demon," shouted the blond Kunoichi. "D-E-M-O-N . . . DEMON. Don't you know what that is?"

"Of course," said Harry with a grin, "But like I said, unless your brother has a ten tailed demon inside of him then Naruto has nothing to worry about."

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Temari yet again, "Are you trying to tell me that you teammate has a ten tailed demon in him?"

"No, no, no, nothing like that," said Harry looking at the girl as if she were stupid, "His demon is only nine-tails."

Temari suddenly got a very scared look on her face as she felt the demonic chakra emerge near her brother that dwarfed his.

"See," said Harry with a grin, "Nothing to worry about. Now as I suggested before, let's go watch this fight and then we can fight afterwards. Okay?"

Temari didn't really know how to react to his suggestion. On the one hand, she was curious. On the other hand she was terrified of their being another demon out there stronger than the one hidden within her brother.

"Great, so let's go get some prime seats," said Harry producing a bag of popcorn out of nowhere.

**BREAK**

"So, who's hiding in there?" asked Naruto as he observed the boy, "Kyubi said that he could tell me but then he decided he'd rather be a cynical bastard. So come on, out with it. What demon is hiding in there?"

"Mother says that you're a flee-bitten mangy mutt worth less than his own shit," said Gaara obediently following mother's instructions.

"Oh come on, you can do better than that," said Naruto, "Now, what's your demon's name? I've told you mine's name, it's only fair."

"Shukaku of the sand shall feast upon your blood and bones," said Gaara with a slight twitch as the sand began to gather around his body.

"Ooh, the one tail," said Naruto excitedly, "This is going to be fun after all."

Naruto waited patiently as Gaara completed his transformation into a half breed demon.

"You're going to die," said Gaara with a little chuckle.

Naruto just laughed out loud at him, "You really think you can defeat me with such an incomplete form? Let me show you how outclassed you really are." Naruto then howled a bit in pain as his body began to shift and change. His clothes faded away as orange-red fur grew in to replace his. His bones popped and shifted painfully and the repositioned, elongated, and hardened. Faster than Gaara's transformation, Naruto changed himself into his own Kyubi Hybrid from, complete with nine genuine tails behind him.

"**Ah, much better,"** said Naruto as he did a final stretch popping several joints and flexing several muscles. "**I've never been able to try this form in a decent fight. Granted Moony is a bit of challenge but I know his moves now. But you, you're all new. Are you going to challenge me?"**

Suddenly sand shot forward. Naruto moved his tails in front of him to shield him from the sand. The sand moved harmlessly around the tails. Naruto charged forward through the remnants of the sand to punch Gaara in the side of his head. His fist went cleanly through the sand structure that made up his hybrid form to connect with Gaara face. He saw at least one tooth knocked free from his mouth.

The sand quickly re-collected to protect Gaara properly.

"**Is that all? Are you really so pathetic?"**

"What are you?" asked Gaara in a raspy voice.

"**You don't listen very well do you? I told you. I am the vessel for Kyubi, the nine-tail demon Kitsune. And you, Shukaku no Jinchuriki, are supposed to be a challenge for me. Now stop complaining and fight or I'll just have to kill you now."**

Gaara's eyes narrowed at Naruto. Suddenly a huge amount of sand exploded from the ground around them. Gaara took on a much more complete Hybrid form. He didn't appear much bigger but Naruto could tell that the sand had become much more condensed.

"**Yes, now that is more like it." **Naruto grinned as he charged in to attack once again. He hits struck true but it felt like he was hitting pure titanium. The sand didn't budge an inch and yet it still looked like Gaara felt each hit, just not as strongly as before.

Gaara swung with one of his sand arms hitting Naruto's entire body with one hit, freeing him from the onslaught of punches. Gaara's only mistake was leaving his arm out there for so long. Before Naruto had even finished his flight from Gaara's body his tails wrapped around the giant fist pulling him along. Naruto spun once in the air and slammed Gaara into the ground before finishing his own flight into one of the trees.

At the same time Naruto was trying to calculate a fast way to defeat him. It seemed like the more time that passed the stronger Gaara was getting while Naruto was suffering the opposite affliction. It was as if Gaara's demon was more in control and feeding into the form than Gaara was. And if that were the case, then Naruto was going to be in some trouble.

Suddenly a bit of brilliance struck him. What if he were to cause something to interfere with the demons ability to provide chakra? The only difficult would be locating the seal and then putting a powerful enough seal over it to disrupt the demons chakra.

_Where is the seal? That on his head has to be it, or maybe just one of them. He might have more than one. Shit! Might as well start with the one I can see._

Naruto moved his hands rapidly hoping to Kami that this particular technique would work while he was in this form. His chakra generated to his hand for only and instant before failing. _Shit, this is going to hurt._

Naruto jumped back from Gaara, "**You're not too bad. But this fight has gone on long enough."** Naruto shifted instantly back into his human form and began the same hand seals yet again, his fingers glowed green moments later. "Oh, this is going to hurt." Naruto flashed out of sight confusing Gaara for only a second. Naruto reappeared directly in front of Gaara and slammed his glowing hand on the red kanji on the boy's head. Unfortunately that was all the time Gaara need to slam another wall sized fist into Naruto.

"Aaah," screamed Gaara retreating back from Naruto holding his head. The sand began to drop rapidly forming into pools all around the boy.

Naruto was a bit slow to stand again. It was then he noticed a tear in the Gaara's clothes near his shoulder revealing a part of another seal. Naruto rapidly began the same seals again causing his hand to glow green once more. This time it wasn't necessary to use the Shunshin technique. He strode forward this time purposefully. He brought his arm back and slammed it forward towards the seal. Gaara's sand gave a half hearted attempt to stop him but failed miserably. Naruto's hand slammed into Gaara's chest burning clean through the boy's shirt and into his skin rather painfully. Instantly all the sand in the area dropped to the ground ceasing its painful writhing on the forest floor.

Gaara dropped straight back with a look of disbelief on his face. His eyes closed before he even hit the dirt.

From the sand Naruto spotted two scrolls waiting to be plucked.

Harry and the girl decided then was a good time to make their appearance.

"That was awesome," shouted Harry as he ran up to Naruto, "Why didn't you tell me you could do that?"

"It's still not perfect," said Naruto scratching the back of his head nervously, "Still drains chakra like a son of bitch and it is only any good if I'm fighting someone like Gaara or Moony during a full moon."

"I don't care, that was fucking fantastic," shouted Harry.

"So what happened with your fight?" asked Naruto looking at the blond girl.

"Oh, we decided to watch your fight and then have our fight afterwards," said Harry, "Besides, now you can watch our fight."

Temari meanwhile was slowly approaching her unconscious brother. She was very scared to get too close to him. She barely touched him before jerking back. He didn't react at all nor did the sand around him. She checked him again, he was sleeping . . . soundly. He almost looked peaceful.

"What did you do to him?" asked Temari slightly afraid. She was now left alone to fight these two alone. One of which was a monster all on his own if he was able to trounce Gaara so soundly.

"Huh?" asked Naruto looking at her, "Oh, I sealed the seal that was forcing the chakra out from the demon. Basically, I cut off the demon from your brother. So now he's harmless, or at least as harmless as any shinobi without a demon."

"Is that possible?" asked Temari, "Is that why he's sleeping?"

"I have no idea why he's sleeping," said Naruto, "Anyway, we've got your scrolls so you can leave now."

"Oh let them keep the one we don't need," said Harry, "It would be one thing if we earned more than the one scroll but we didn't."

Naruto shrugged and tossed the extra scroll.

"I hope you can find your other teammate and get another scroll," said Harry, "It would be nice to get to have that fight later."

Temari could only nod dumbly. They were letting her and her brother get away. More than that, they wanted her to pass so they could fight again.

Once Naruto and Harry disappeared Temari could only comment, "So weird."

**BREAK**

Not far from where the two titans battled sat a terrified and soiled servant of Orochimaru. He was strong no doubt but he couldn't beat Gaara and he knew it. Worse for Kabuto was that Kazama Naruto, the boy he was supposed to kill had just soundly trounced Gaara. Orochimaru was not going to be pleased.

Still, Kabuto would face Orochimaru and relay the information. Hopefully the information would be enough to convince Orochimaru to spare his life. However his outlook was not positive.

Kabuto met with Orochimaru at the designated location along with his other 'teammates'.

"Is it done?" asked Orochimaru coldly.

Kabuto dropped to one knee, "Forgive me, something else has occurred that you must know."

"Speak then. I can always kill you after you tell me," said Orochimaru.

"The last Kazama," said Kabuto nervously, "He is also the vessel of Kyubi."

"That is of no consequence," said Orochimaru, "You should be able to defeat him still. You are more skilled than most of the Jounin in this village."

"It's more than that," said Kabuto with great urgency, "He can transform into a Kyubi/Human hybrid form at will and maintain complete control. He seems to be able to control 100 percent of the beast's power. And something worse has happened . . ."

"You don't seem to understand how much I dislike bad news," said Orochimaru, "This is really bad news."

"Forgive me, but this is the last of it. Gaara has been defeated . . . by the last Kazama. The boy seemed to be playing with Gaara before . . . he sealed away the demon. Gaara can no longer control sand or access Shukaku's power," said Kabuto waiting for the death blow. He could feel the absolute killing intent leaking from Orochimaru in high enough amounts to draw the attention of the ANBU.

"So be it," said Orochimaru, "Your information has bought you your life. For now you will live. I will deal with this brat in due time. And I will personally ensure the Kazama line ends once and for all."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N **Sorry I've been gone so long. Sorry part of the chapter cut off. It should all be here this time.

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

Hyuga Hiashi was a very proud man. There were very few times in his life where his pride had truly felt beaten down. The first time was in his youth on the one and only day when his brother Hizashi had soundly trounced him in a sparring match. The second time was the day his wife died shortly after giving birth to his second daughter preventing him from the opportunity to have a son. The third time came at the cost of his brother's life. As far as he was concerned there would not be a fourth.

"Hyuga-sama," begged a branch member waiting politely at the entrance to his personal meditation room. It was pretty well accepted that Hyuga Hiashi was never to be disturbed when he was in his meditation room unless there was a national emergency. Given that he didn't hear any warning sirens coming through the open window he knew this could not be the case. So that meant he was being disturbed unnecessarily.

"I do believe that I am in my private meditation chamber. I do not hear any warning sirens sounding so there cannot be a national emergency. So please, tell me, why is it you saw fit to disturb me?" asked Hiashi not bothering to open his eyes.

"Forgive Hiashi-sama," begged the man, "But . . . there has been whispering of something most . . . disturbing. I believed it important enough to inform you before the council got wind of it."

Hiashi was usually a very patient man with few exceptions. He had very little patience for poor training habits. He had even less patience for rumor mongering. "You have come to disturb me with gossip. Enlighten me, how can gossip be of such importance?"

"Forgive me Hiashi-sama," begged the man once more, "I do not believe this to be a safe place to discuss such matters."

"I believe it is for me to decide where or where not to discuss anything. Now explain yourself quickly or you will regret ever having disturbed me," said Hiashi calmly yet very chillingly.

"It would appear sir . . . that there is . . . well that is to say . . ."

"My eldest daughters stutters less than you do, out with is already," said Hiashi.

"Kazama," said the man barely audibly.

Hiashi's eyes peeled open instantly, "Come with me now." He stood and began walking through the complex maze of hallways to a room well sealed and protected even from Hyuga eyes.

Hiashi entered and seated himself behind his desk motioning for the branch family member to sit.

The man bowed graciously before seating himself.

"Now explain, have the searchers finally turned up something?" asked Hiashi.

"No sir, the three remaining searcher are all still far from Konoha. This comes from within the walls of the city. It would seem that there is a Kazama competing in the Chuunin exam," explained the man.

"For which village does this Kazama compete then? I know Arashi-sama had some foreign family, perhaps it is one of them," said Hiashi hopeful.

"He is a Leaf Shinobi my lord," said the man nervously.

"He is of the Leaf, how is this possible? I would have known if there was still one of the Kazama clan still within these walls," said Hiashi upset, "It must be a farce. Some fool trying to draw attention to himself."

"But my lord, there may be truth to it. He may be his son," blurted the man nervously.

"I would have known if he had a son. If he had a son he would have been raised within these walls and protect. If he had a son, he would have grown up as if he were my own," said Hiashi growing angry with the cowering branch family member.

"Forgive me Hiashi-sama, but there seems to be more to this," said the man nervously. The last thing the messenger wanted was have his bird-in-a-cage seal activated. "Supposedly, his name was hidden . . . even from him until recently."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow. Logically it would have made sense to change his name at birth to protect his identity. But then Hiashi should have been informed of this immediately, it was his right to know as the child's legal guardian.

"Do you know anything else?" asked Hiashi curiously.

"Forgive me my lord, but you will not like this next bit of information," stated the now shaking man.

Hiashi suddenly had a very bad feeling that he would not like this next bit of information at all. He took a steady and deep breath to calm himself before he nodded to the man to continue.

"The boy, his name is . . . his name is Kazama Naruto, the vessel," said the terrified man.

"Leave and speak of this to no one. Do everything in your power to see to it the council does not find out about this. I have business to attend to." With that Hiashi stood and left the man shaking in his seat.

Hiashi was a calm man in most cases. His calm at the moment was only hanging on by a very fine thread as he moved through the village rapidly. He didn't even notice that the streets simply cleared before him as he walked. Also absent behind were his usually shadows, his personal guard. They were currently taking a comfortable nap, compliments of a few well placed Jyuken strikes.

"H-H-Hyuga-sama," said the shocked secretary to see the head of the Hyuga household present and looking absolutely livid.

"I will see him now," said Hiashi simply to the secretary.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes sir," stuttered the terrified secretary as she scurried from behind her desk in the office.

Hiashi tried to maintain his calm. He was replaying the past in his mind.

**BREAK**

"Hey, Hiashi, what's up?" yelled a rather obnoxious blond idiot.

"What do you want Arashi? Today has not been a good day," said Hiashi calmly.

"Che, you're always such a stiff Teme," said the blonde.

"Arashi, I'm in no mood. What do you want?" asked Hiashi.

"Sheesh, what happened? Is Yuki pregnant or something?" asked Arashi.

"Yes, and the mood swings are just beginning," said Hiashi rubbing his temples.

"Seriously?" asked a now very excited Arashi, "Wow, that's great. Congratulations! You'll name him after me right?"

Hiashi raise and eyebrow at the blond while trying to fight the smirk that was itching at the edges of his mouth. There was only one man in the world that had ever been able to get Hiashi to relax even in the slightest and it was this man here, Kazama Arashi, also known as Konoha's Yellow-Flash.

Arashi smiled seeing his friend finally crack.

"You're obnoxious," said Hiashi putting his straight face back up.

Arashi just laughed heartily.

"So what did you want?" asked Hiashi with a slight sigh.

"I want you to be a Godfather," said Arashi.

"A Godfather, what is this?" asked Hiashi.

"Well, it's a tradition from my mother's side of the family actually," said Arashi, "Basically, it means that you're responsible for my child if anything should happen to me or Mariko."

"You want me to take care of your child if you were to die?" asked Hiashi slightly stunned that his friend would ask him such a thing.

"Yeah, basically," said Arashi, "Look, I know it's a lot to ask but the truth is you've always been like a brother to me . . . a very stiff, up-tight brother . . . but a brother nonetheless."

"Yondaime-sama, on behalf of myself, my wife, and my clan, I would be honored," said Hiashi bowing formally to his friend and (though he hated to admit it) leader.

"None of that now, this has nothing to do with the village and everything to do with our friendship. Now, I'm asking as Kazama Arashi to Hyuga Hiashi, will you become the Godfather of my child?" asked Arashi with a serious face.

For once, maybe the only time he would ever allow it, he smiled brightly at Arashi, "I would be honored old friend."

"Old?" questioned Arashi, "I'm younger than you. Who are you calling old?"

"It was an expression. As if to say we've been friends for a long time," said Hiashi slightly exasperated with his blond friend.

"Oh, then why didn't you just say that? I swear, it's more confusing talking to you sometimes than it is the Mizukage, and all he ever talks about is the way water flows, weirdo," said Arashi with a shake of the head.

If the Hyuga had been any less composed he would have been ripping his hair out by now. Instead he chose to just smirk and begin his walk home to see his wife. His mood had noticeably improved as well.

**BREAK**

"He'll see you now," stuttered the nervous secretary.

Hiashi nodded his thanks considerably calmer than he'd been when he first arrived.

"Ah, Hiashi-dono, welcome, welcome," greeted the Third Hokage.

"Sandaime-sama," said Hiashi, "I am a bit concerned."

"Oh, and what has you so concerned?" asked the Third Hokage.

"My Godson," said Hiashi earning him a confused look from Sandaime.

"I'm afraid you have me a bit of a disadvantage. What exactly is a Godson?"

"It would figure that you do not know of the tradition, coming from such humble beginnings. Within some cultures and family it is a tradition to name a person to be a protector or guardian of their children in the event of their deaths. The person chosen is usually selected for different reasons but in this case, I was selected because of my strong friendship. Now, I would like some answers from you. Is there any truth to the whisperings of there being a Kazama Naruto participating in the Chuunin exams?"

"Word spreads fast," said Sarutobi having already connected all the dots with his last question.

"Is it true?" asked Hiashi wanting a straight answer from this man.

"Yes, Kazama Naruto is participating in the exam. Yes, he is in fact the vessel of Kyubi and yes in fact his is the son of your best and only friend, Kazama Arashi."

"I see," said Hiashi, "Then I shall have to work quickly if I am to beat the council for they will no doubt try to stop me and to discredit Naruto."

Sarutobi was surprised. Hyuga Hiashi, the iceman himself, seemed concerned for another human being.

"Tell me, you knew of my friendship with Arashi, why was I not told sooner that Arashi had a living son?" asked Hiashi calmly. He was just pleased to find out that some of Arashi still remained in this world.

"The boy wasn't seen as human. I needed to ensure he was protected and while you and Arashi were close your . . . _council_ never approved of your friendship. I kept him safe."

Hiashi contemplated the words carefully, "It is true, I was weak then to the council's will. Perhaps I am still weak now as I am continually forced to give into their demands. However, I gave Arashi my word then and it stands now. I am that boys Godfather. I am his guardian in this village and while I have not in the past taken responsibility I am prepared to do so now."

"And the council of elders?" asked Sarutobi interested in just how Hiashi would work around this.

Hiashi frowned, "It will be difficult. They will not allow him within our walls willingly knowing that he is a vessel for that fox. They also still bare a rather large grudge against Kazama Arashi for his attempts to outlaw the bird-in-a-cage seal. If only he'd had another year, I'm certain he would have succeeded."

"Perhaps, but that is the past, we must deal with the now," said Sarutobi, "there is also then a concern for the well being of Naruto's cousin Harry. Those two are as close as brothers and I will not see them separated."

"Another problem for the council as Harry is a foreigner," said Hiashi.

"So, now we see the reality of the situation," said Sarutobi, "Sometimes, ignorance is bliss."

"Either way, I refuse to just give up, but if anything is to happen it must be done soon and without the council catching wind," said Hiashi.

"There is another way you know," said Sarutobi narrowing his eyes towards Hiashi, "But this one would be the most dangerous I should think."

Hiashi quirked an eyebrow, it was very rare that Sarutobi would suggest something dangerous let alone devious as the expression on his face lead him to believe.

"You could always . . . _arrange_ . . . something," said Sarutobi with a slight smirk.

"Oh, that would be dangerous," said Hiashi with a slight smirk at what Sarutobi was suggesting. "But we would need documents signed by myself and by Arashi both to make it legal."

Sarutobi pressed the call button on the intercom on his desk, "Send for Kakashi."

"Hai Sandaime-sama," called the secretary's voice back through the intercom.

"This might take a while, Kakashi is not known for his punctuality," said Sarutobi leaning back in his chair.

"I am well aware of his reputation," said Hiashi, "Let us just be thankful he has not had any students as of yet to pass along his bad habits to."

"I was very tempted to give him the last Uchiha," said Sarutobi.

"That boy is given too much as it is and Kakashi would only spoil him," said Hiashi calmly.

Sarutobi nodded as he began discussing more mundane things with Hiashi such as the weather and the expected guests and dignitaries coming to the Chuunin Exam Finals in little more than a month.

Finally Kakashi arrived after an hour, not too late by his standards.

"Yo," Kakashi said with a slight wave of his free hand. The other was holding up a little orange book that his face was buried in.

"Ah, Kakashi, so glad you could join us," said Sarutobi sarcastically.

Kakashi finally looked up to see Hyuga Hiashi seated in the room. He slowly tucked away his book and adapted a sense of propriety. "Hyuga-sama, Hokage-sama," he said bowing politely.

"Kakashi," said Sarutobi, "I have a question for you and it may be rather upsetting. Do you think you'd be able to reproduce an exact copy of Arashi's signature?"

Kakashi's visible eye widened noticeably. "Why would you . . . Forgive me, yes sir, I believe I could."

"Excellent," said Sarutobi, "Hiashi, how long would it take you to get a standard contract drawn up?"

"Standard?" asked Hiashi with a slight glare, "I will not use the standard Hyuga contract. That would remove too many of his rights. I think that an outside litigator would be our best choice this time."

"So be it," said Sarutobi before he reached forward and pressed the intercom button again, "Send for the head of the legal department."

"Hai Sandaime-sama," said the secretary.

This time it took less than a minute for the man to arrive. He was a very small man with wiry glasses and pencil behind his ear.

"Sandaime-sama, you sent for me," said the man with a deep and gracious bow.

"Indeed, indeed," said Sarutobi disliking the man, "I need you assistance to draw up a contract. Have a seat."

The man quickly bustled into the open seat feeling very wary of the leader of the Hyuga clan as well as the great 'Copy-nin' Kakashi. He had a job to do and he was going to be sure to do it.

"Excellent," said the man trying to show a positive, "Now to begin, I would need the names of the parties involved."

"You'll leave that blank, we will fill it in later," said Hiashi, "Now, as to the type of contract . . ."

**BREAK**

Sarutobi and Hiashi read through the finally product several times to make sure that everything was laid out precisely as he wanted it to be. It was a rather extensive contract and was completely devoid of any loopholes for the council to exploit.

"Well done," said Hiashi with a nod to the litigator.

"Kakashi, please see the litigator out. Also, please be sure he doesn't remember any of this," ordered Sarutobi causing the man to blanch considerably. "I am sorry, you have done fine work but this must be kept secret."

The litigator nodded his acceptance reluctantly. He knew that this had happened in the past to different litigators in the office. Usually it went smoothly and there were no problems and the litigator himself got big fat bonus in his next pay check. But there was the occasion slip up in the process that caused some rather severe mental trauma.

Kakashi returned within moments, "Everything went smoothly, no apparent side-effects."

"Well done," said Sarutobi with nod to the senior shinobi.

"So," said Kakashi, "I'm assuming this contract is for the Hyuga clan and the Kazama clan. Is that why I was asked about being able to reproduce my sensei's signature?"

"Indeed," said Sarutobi.

"Hmmm, I don't understand. Why create this contract now? The Kazama clan has passed."

"Arashi had a son," said Hiashi feeling safe in sharing the information with Kakashi.

Kakashi however just paled as his mind flashed to an image of the blond boy he'd seen at the exam four days ago. "The Kyubi vessel."

"Sadly yes," said Sarutobi, "His identity was kept secret. As far as everyone knew Arashi's wife and child died in childbirth. Naruto was given a new family name to protect him from his father's enemies. Only today was I informed that Arashi had appointed Hiashi as Naruto's legal guardian in the event of his death. Now, you should be well aware of the inter-house politics of the Hyuga clan. This is the only way we can guarantee Naruto would be safe from them and still allow Hiashi proper guardianship."

"Why wasn't I told sooner?" asked Kakashi.

"For the same reason Hiashi wasn't told. The boy needed to be kept safe and at the time there was only so much we could do for him to ensure that happened. Besides, if you recall correctly, you weren't exactly in any condition to be looking after a baby," explained Sarutobi.

"So have you thought about how you're going to tell him?" asked Kakashi, "I would like to be there as well."

"That will be for Hiashi to decide," said Sarutobi.

"I think it would be wise. Perhaps it would be best to explain to him the terms of this contract at the same time to both of them at the same time," said Hiashi.

**BREAK**

"So troublesome," complained Shikamaru when he woke up. He immediately assessed his surroundings. He was laying on something soft, most likely a bed. That meant that he and his team survived the forest or were recovered from the forest, hopefully all alive.

Finally Shikamaru yawned and decided to get up and look around. It wasn't the hospital so that most likely meant they were in the tower waiting for the next part of the exam to begin. The sleeping forms of Harry and Naruto also suggested as much.

"So, you finally woke up brat," said an all too familiar voice.

Shikamaru mumbled a quick 'troublesome' before he turned to face his psychotic instructor, "What the hell happened?"

"You passed the first part of the test," said Anko with a slight shrug, "You however, have been asleep for two days with mild chakra exhaustion."

"It was too troublesome to get through the forest any other way," said Shikamaru.

"You know what this means don't you?" asked Anko with a sadistic grin.

"You're going to go away and let me sleep more?" asked Shikamaru hopefully.

"Not even close," said Anko, "You going to get more training to increase your chakra capacity."

"So troublesome," complained Shikamaru as he fell back on his cot.

"You have no idea," said Anko, "Anyway, rest for now. As soon as this leg of the exam ends we'll talk again."

"So troublesome," complained Shikamaru once Anko was out of earshot.

"Is she gone?" asked a whispered voice.

Shikamaru turned to see both Harry and Naruto barely cracking an eye to look.

"Yeah, she's gone for now," said Shikamaru, "That woman is becoming even more troublesome."

"Shikamaru, everything is troublesome to you," said Harry fully as he sat up from his cot.

"Yeah, and if it wasn't troublesome then we'd certainly find a way to make it troublesome," added Naruto with his standard foxy grin.

Shikamaru couldn't help smirking at his teammates antics, "So how many teams have made it here?"

"Well, Kiba's team made it," said Naruto thoughtfully.

"And that sand team we took the scroll from has made it as well," said Harry.

"If you took a scroll from them then how did they make it here?"

"They obviously got another scroll," said Naruto with a grin.

"Are they any good?" asked Shikamaru.

"Yeah," said Harry, "They're good, but nothing we can't handle."

"Any others made it yet?" asked Shikamaru.

"Not yet," said Harry, "But there is still another day and a half left. I'm sure one or two more teams will make it."

"We'll just have to wait and see," said Naruto with a grin, "In the mean time . . ."

"Ramen," shouted Harry and Naruto as one. With that said the trio walked with a purpose towards the kitchen area.

**BREAK**

Naruto, Harry, and Shikamaru assembled in the audience chamber as they were instructed. It didn't seem like many teams made it through and many of the looked to be worse for the wear.

At the head of the room were all the Jounin instructors along with the Hokage and few other shinobi. There was also a man who looked a great deal like Hinata and the 'Prick' also known as Neji.

"Congratulations to all of you who've made it this far," announced Sarutobi to those present, "I congratulate all of you coming this far. This exams true purpose is to act in the place of wars to judge the strength of a shinobi nation. You all represent the finest shinobi available and I hope that you will all show your skill and generate revenue for you home villages by performing well. As so few teams have come through the second part of the exam I am please to announce that a preliminary round will not be necessary. We shall simply draw lots to determine the order and opponents to be fought in the six or seven fights that shall make up the tournament to be held in one month's time." He then nodded to a sickly looking shinobi who stepped forward with a cough.

"At this time, you may withdraw from the tournament if you wish without consequence to your team," said the Jounin with a cough. At that time, two Oto-nin that entered only minutes before raised their hands only to fall to the floor almost dead. "Any others?" Shikamaru raised his hand.

"I don't really need to waste my time here anymore then if it won't affect my team," said Shikamaru with a heavy yawn.

"So be it, anyone else?" No one moved, "Very well then, medics please remove the injured."

The two medic-nin quickly gathered up the boy and girl from Otokagure and rushed them out of the room performing several medical jutsu as they went.

"That leaves twelve," said the man with another cough, "When I call your name, please come forward and draw a number from the box and for you Hyuga, don't even think about using your Byakugan."

Hinata blushed while Neji glared at the Jounin and then towards the other Hyuga standing with Sarutobi.

"Sabaku no Gaara," called the announcer.

Gaara approached the box looking very agitated. His sand seemed to be moving out of control though not violently. He held one hand to his head as if he was trying to block out a headache with his hand. Gaara reached into the box and pulled out a small placard with the number 5 on it. He then walked away.

Naruto took careful note of the fact that Gaara was pain but he hid it very well.

"Rock Lee," called out next.

"Yosh!" shouted Lee with an extreme amount of energy. He jabbed his hand inside and pulled out a placard, "I am the most special and youthful number 7, a number of great luck and fortune!"

"Potter Harry," called next.

Harry smiled eagerly as he approached the box. He reached inside and pulled his number happily, "Number 1, as usual."

Naruto snickered while Shikamaru just sighed at his teammate's antics.

"Hyuga Hinata."

Hinata timidly approached and reached inside the box before pulling out the number three and showing it to the judge. She gave a slight glance towards the other Hyuga standing with Sandaime but it was brief and fearful.

The judge nodded before writing down her position. "Hyuga Neji."

Neji approached with an aura of anger. He reached in the box and pulled his placard while glaring at Hinata.

"Hinata's cousin doesn't seem to like her much," whispered Harry to Naruto.

"Two," said Neji shifting his glare from Hinata to Harry.

"He doesn't seem to like you very much either," whispered back Naruto with a slight chuckle, "Just be careful."

"Don't have much of a choice now do I?" asked Harry.

"Sabaku no Temari."

"Eight," said the blonde shinobi with a glance towards Harry that didn't go unnoticed by Ten Ten.

"Ten Ten," the sickly shinobi called next pulling the girl out of her thoughts.

"Ten," said Ten Ten with a small laugh at the irony of it.

"Inuzuka Kiba."

"Ha ha, let's go Akamaru," said Kiba with a wolfish grin. He reached in and took his number, "Nine. Lucky, we get the girl."

Ten Ten glared daggers at the pair as she thought of numerous ways to skin the dogs.

"Aburame Shino."

Shino silently took his number from the box before showing the number 11 to the judge.

The judge nodded in response before calling out, "Kinuta Dosu."

The only remaining Oto-nin took his number, "Six."

"Sabaku no Kankuro," said the judge looking to the puppeteer.

Kankuro took his number with a nervous glance at his brother, "Twelve."

"That leaves Kazama Naruto with number four," announced the judge. The fight order is as follows:"

**Bracket One**

_Fight One_

_Potter Harry vs. Hyuga Neji_

_Fight Two_

_Kazama Naruto vs. Hyuga Hinata_

_Fight Three_

_Sabaku no Gaara vs. Kinuta Dosu_

**Bracket Two**

_Fight One_

_Rock Lee vs. Sabaku no Temari_

_Fight Two_

_Inuzuka Kiba vs. Ten Ten_

_Fight Three_

_Aburame Shino vs. Sabaku no Kankuro._

"The winner of fight two shall face the winner of fight three. The winner of that fight shall face the winner of fight one. Any questions?"

No one seemed to notice poor Hinata fainted when she learned she'd be forced to fight against Naruto.

"This should be great," shouted Harry with a giant grin at Naruto.

"This is so going to kick ass," replied Naruto.

"To our foreign guests, thank you again for your participation. Now with the fights decided you are to see to your training however you see fit. The final tournament shall commence in one months time at 9:00am. Do not be late or you will be disqualified. Would Kazama Naruto, Potter Harry, and Hyuga Hinata remain behind along with your Jounin instructors?" instructed Sarutobi with a slight smirk.

Naruto and Harry were both rapidly trying think if they had done something and got in trouble for it but forgot about. Then there was also the fact that there was Hyuga there and it was well known that the Hyuga clan in general did not like Naruto or his cousin. In the end they had come up with more than a hundred reasons for them to be in trouble yet again.

"We didn't do nothing," protested Naruto and Harry together, "We've been here for the last five days. We couldn't have done anything."

Sarutobi chuckled at the boys antics. He could not help but find humor in them, "Guilty consciences boys?" asked Sarutobi, "Is there anything you'd like to share with me?" This would sometimes get them to crack and spill there guts but it didn't always work.

"But we haven't done anything wrong," protested Naruto loudly.

"That will have to change," said Hiashi rubbing his temples. This boy was too much like his father.

"Huh?" asked Naruto, "You mean we should have done something wrong? Or is there something specific you want us to do wrong? Oh, I get it, you're trying to get me banished again. Damn you, why can't you just leave me alone."

Hiashi sighed, "Naruto-san, please calm yourself. You're giving me a headache. I wasn't saying you did something wrong or that you should do something wrong and I most certainly am not looking to get you banished from the village. What I meant would have to change is your being so loud. It's too much like your father and it will give me constant headaches if I have to hear it everyday."

"Huh?" asked Naruto and Harry confused.

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" asked Naruto.

Hiashi had to once again fight the smirk that was itching to show through at the corners of his mouth. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"This might be more difficult than I thought," said Sarutobi with a chuckle.

"Yo, gaki, why don't you just shut-up for a while and let the man talk," volunteered the scarecrow man.

"Why don't you shut-up scarecrow?" asked Naruto challengingly.

"Hmm, did you say something?" asked the man as he looked up from his book.

There was a single bright flash followed by a lot of confetti and a missing orange book followed instantly after.

"No," cried Kakashi seeing the remains of his book, never mind the fact that Naruto had just beat him with his sensei's technique.

"Don't ignore me, I will be acknowledged," shouted Naruto at the Jounin.

Hiashi however couldn't stop himself from chuckling much to the shock of his daughter. She had never once seen her father chuckle, smile, or anything similar since before her mother passed.

"Damn brat," complained Anko, "He beat me to it."

"Naruto, focus," instructed Sarutobi drawing the boy's attention back, "We need to talk to you about something. Something that I have was only informed of yesterday."

"What is it Ojisan?" asked Naruto excitedly.

"Naruto, have you ever heard of a person known as a Godfather?"

"No, should I have?" asked Naruto.

"A godfather is a person chosen by your parents to care for you if they are unable. It is a tradition in some families to do so. I was only informed yesterday of who your godfather is."

"I have a godfather?" asked Naruto in surprise, "Cool . . . I think."

Sarutobi chuckled, "Yes Naruto, you have a godfather. He was unaware at the time of your birth that you were in fact Kazama Naruto and not Uzumaki Naruto. That is why he never took you in and raised you."

"So what does that mean?" asked Naruto.

"It means boy," said Hiashi stepping forward with a very stern face, "That you and you cousin will be coming to live with me and my family as of now."

"Wait, does that mean you're my godfather?" asked Naruto.

"Yes brat," said Hiashi, "And as such, you are my responsibility as is your cousin Harry."

"Hmm," said Naruto thinking, "No thanks, we're good."

Hiashi was shocked. He never imagined that Naruto would turn him down.

"Naruto," chided Sarutobi, "This man was the very best of friends with your father. Your father specifically asked Hiashi-sama to care for you if anything happened to him. I think you should give this a chance. Get to know him and perhaps he can tell you a bit more about your father."

Naruto looked at the man carefully studying him for a minute before he looked back to Sarutobi, "But he looks so boring!"

Hinata was surprised by the statement. You just didn't say that kind of thing about Hyuga Hiashi, it just wasn't done. She was even more surprised to hear a giggle escape from her mouth which she quickly tried to cover up.

"Do you find him humorous daughter?" asked Hiashi glaring slightly at his daughter. In truth he was very pleased to hear her laughter, even if it was at his expense.

Hinata suddenly began stuttering incoherently in fear that she angered her father.

"Do you find your future husband amusing?" asked Hiashi again trying to hide his own smile. He was slightly surprised to hear two thumps as he watched his daughter faint and his future son in law quickly join her.

"That went better than expected," said Sarutobi with a chuckle.

"So wait, does that mean that Naruto is getting married?" asked Harry slightly surprised and very confused.

"He and Hinata will be married, but not for a few more years. It was something his father and I agreed upon shortly before Naruto was born. It was agreed that if Arashi had a daughter and I a son that they would marry and become part of the Hyuga clan. However, if I had a daughter and he a son, they would marry and become part of the Kazama clan," explained Hiashi with a slightly fond smile at his daughter. He was very happy now that he had two daughters, even if one of them was a failure in the eyes of the clan.

"But doesn't he have any choice in the matter?" demanded Harry on his now unconscious cousin's behalf.

"If, and this is a big if, come the appointed time of their vows both of them decide that they do not wish to marry than the contract can be broken. Until then, they will observe the rules of the engagement in accordance with Hyuga tradition."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Normally, at age 13 Hinata would have been moved into the Kazama home and the betrothal would have been done according to their traditions. But as Naruto was orphaned and I am his godfather he should have been raised with me, you as well Harry. As such, he and you shall both be moved into my home. Hinata and Naruto's betrothal shall proceed in accordance with Hyuga tradition."

"What that hell is Hyuga tradition?"

"For the next year, you and Naruto shall share a room. You shall both be given etiquette instruction as well as lessons on clan history and tradition. Upon Hinata's 13th birthday, Naruto and Hinata shall be moved into a room of their own which they shall share until they wed. At which time both Hinata and Naruto will be moved into a new home of their own outside of the Hyuga complex at my expense as part of Hinata's dowry."

"And what about me?" asked Harry slightly concerned.

"You will be allowed to stay with me and my family until the age of eighteen. At which time, I would recommend you have enough in savings to purchase you own home or rent an apartment. I will assist you in any way I can, but the clan council of elders will only tolerate so much," explained Hiashi.

"I'll let you know now, Naruto is not going to like this at all. He may not mind the idea of marrying Hinata. He may not mind moving into your home and following all of those rules. But I can guarantee you he's going to complain the whole way through for the simple fact that he wasn't given any choice in the matter. And I won't be of any help either." With that he grabbed his unconscious cousin and roughly threw him over his shoulder.

"I understand," said Hiashi with a nod. He appreciated the boy's honesty and directness. "But know this, if I had known, I would have raised you and Naruto both as if you were my own. Regardless of how strict I am and how much I expect of all my children, I will always protect you to the best of my ability. This betrothal is the only thing that will protect both you and Naruto from the clan elders. When the time comes, I am certain that Naruto will choose what is best from himself just as his father did."

Harry nodded to the man, "Do we need to collect our things from the apartment?"

"Collect only your personal effects. The rest is to be destroyed. I will take care of everything," said Hiashi.

"Fine, we'll meet you at the Hyuga compound in a few hours. We still have to find out about training for the exam finals," said Harry looking to Anko who looked like the cat that caught the canary.

"Very well," said Hiashi as he scooped up his daughter to carry her home. Now he just had to deal with the council. They would no doubt be very problematic.


	18. Chapter 18

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"Was it a dream Harry?" asked Naruto as he leaned up against the wall of their shitty, rarely used apartment.

"No, you're really getting married," said Harry not sure what to say exactly.

"It just not fair," said Naruto, "Why are they doing this to me? Haven't I suffered enough, now they've got to torture Hinata too."

"They don't see it that way I think," said Harry, "I think its bullshit too but they see it as something good for you and for her."

"Do you know the kinds of names she's going to be called as soon as it's made public she's being wed to the Demon of Konoha? It's not fair to her. I can take it, I've taken it all my life. But Hinata, is so . . . innocent . . . and pure. It's not fair to have her hurt in such a way by being forced to marry me," said Naruto barely audibly.

"I don't know what to tell you. Hiashi said that later, if you both decided you didn't want this then you could call it off."

"I guess we could try to scare her off," said Naruto.

"You can do that on your own. Like you said, Hinata is a good girl, she doesn't deserve that kind of pain," said Harry.

"Any suggestions then?" asked Naruto resignedly.

Harry sighed, "I hate to say this. But . . . you might just have to go with it for now. Get to know her, and her family."

"And then what? What do I do after that? What happens if we do like each other? What happens when I tell her about . . . about . . ." his hand subconsciously went to his stomach.

"I don't know Naruto," said Harry, "If she's anything like me or has even the slightest bit of intelligence she'll know that you are not the Kyubi. You are Kazama Naruto, son of Yondaime Hokage and future Hokage of Konoha. And you will prove to everyone out there that you've earned their respect, demon or no."

At some point Naruto had stood up and shook his fist in the air lighting a fire deep inside of him.

"Alright, let's pack and make the best of this neh?"

Naruto nodded once and started collecting the few personal items they had that were not already packed in their school trunks.

**BREAK**

Hyuga Hiashi could not keep the satisfied smirk from his face as he showed them the signed documents of betrothal for his daughter and the heir of the Kazama clan ratified by Sandaime himself. They were furious.

"This is an outrage, we cannot allow the heiress of the clan to be wed to that demon," demand one of the elders angrily.

"Call him a demon again and I'll end you," said Hiashi coldly. He would not tolerate that kind of behavior in front of him.

"How can we be certain that he is indeed the heir of the Kazama clan?" asked one of the calmer, normally more level headed elders.

"I witnessed him use the Kazama Shunshin," said Hiashi, "There was no mistake about it. He is the heir of Konoha's Yellow Flash."

"And what of the Hirashin? Does the boy know of it?" asked one of the usually more opportunistic elders.

"I do not know. It is possible though unlikely at his young age. Even Yondaime didn't master the technique until he was nearly 19. I will ask him once he has settled into his new home." That seemed to drive a stake into the heart of the elders.

"Hmmm, we need to alter this contract. This does not bode well for our clan," said another elder.

"We will do no such thing," said Hiashi putting his foot down. "You have been demanding for nearly two years that I make my youngest the heiress and here before you is the golden opportunity to do so without any negative repercussions and you wish to renegotiate. I think not. We will gain a very strong ally in the boy's family by allowing this to proceed. Even if he does hold the demon within him it will not be passed on to any of their children. Children that will be closely connected to the Hyuga family through their mother."

"You speak of children, what of the Byakugan? It must be protected," said another elder.

"Could you think of a stronger bloodline combination than the Byakugan and the Kazama blood?"

"A bloodline that will not be under our control," said the greedy elder, "Perhaps if the boy were to be adopted . . . maybe then."

"I'm afraid the contract is iron clad," said Hiashi, "This is set in stone for exactly this reason."

"Then we will have to seal up your daughter's Byakugan, prevent it from being passed to future generation of that line," stated another elder.

"The bird-in-a-cage seal is strictly forbidden by the contract," stated Hiashi, "Not only that but I will not allow it."

"I never said anything about the bird-in-a-cage seal," said the same elder. Hiashi now took a closer look at the elder. It was elder Komura, by far the oldest man on the council and usually the most quiet. When he spoke, you listened.

"Do you know of another seal?"

"Indeed, it is not surprising you do not know of it," said Komura, "It is old and was rarely privileged when I was a child. It is painless and quick but does prevent the spread of the Byakugan to children born to the seal barer."

"And it will not prevent her from having children? The contract specifically states . . ."

"I've read your contract and am well aware of the stipulations it puts forth," said Komura cutting him off. "I will have the sealing methods delivered to you this evening. As long as that can be guaranteed, I see no reason to stop this union. It will indeed protect the clan and create a strong ally that will be in debt to us for years to come."

The elder had spoken, those that remained could only nod their agreement to him, even Hiashi.

"This meeting is adjourned," said another clan elder.

Hiashi bowed tersely to the elders before leaving.

With Hiashi gone Komura smirked, "Well played Hiashi, well played indeed."

Not too much later the pair found themselves standing outside the Hyuga compound.

"So . . . still think this was a bad idea?" asked Harry as he and Naruto stared up at the entrance gate to the Hyuga complex. However Harry got no answer. When he looked over to Naruto all he could see were gold coins in the boy's eyes.

"To quote Shikamaru, 'this is going to be troublesome," said Harry with a shake of is head.

"Harry, we've come home," said Naruto with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Let's go," said Harry with a heavy sigh. He definitely wasn't ready for this.

**BREAK**

Naruto and Harry settled into the room they were given by one of the house maid's who also appeared to be a Hyuga.

"Dinner is at seven, you are both expected to attend," said an angry voice from the door.

Naruto and Harry both looked up to the speaker and frowned deeply.

"Shut up Teme," shouted Naruto angrily, "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"I was sent to inform you," said Neji before he turned and stormed off.

"Oh I can't wait to kick his ass," said Harry before he looked to Naruto, "I'm going to go find Ginny-chan and see if she wants to come for dinner."

"Yeah, I'm gonna go get some lunch at Ichiraku's. See you later," said Naruto with a wave of his hand.

Naruto finished unpack his belongings and sealing some of his more important things away so that only he could get them out again. With that done it was ramen time.

"Ah, Ramen, my sweet, sweet ramen," said Naruto salivating over his bowl.

"Yo," said monotone voice that sat next to Naruto.

Naruto turned his head, "Ah, Scarecrow!"

"Mah, you're too loud," said Kakashi as he signaled to the chef to request a bowl of Miso Ramen.

"What the hell do you want?" asked Naruto as he pouted and turned back to his Ramen.

"I've talked to your sensei," said Kakashi as he broke his chopsticks apart with a snap, "She's agreed to let me train you for the next month."

"Eh?" asked Naruto with noodles hanging out of his mouth. He quickly slurped up his remaining noodles and swallowed them down before speaking again. "Why the hell would you want to train me?"

"Hmmm," said Kakashi thoughtfully, "I guess . . . because your father trained me. And . . . because I'm probably the only one that can help you reach all the way to the Hirashin."

Naruto was suddenly paralyzed. He realized that his father must have had students at some point. He knew that his own father was taught by Jiraiya of the Sannin who was Sandaime's student. But to actually meet someone who may have known his father really well.

Kakashi admittedly surprised by the loud blonde's sudden silence. He was more surprised by the thoughtful look on the boy's face.

"Thanks . . . but no," said Naruto stunning Kakashi.

"Naruto, I don't think you realize . . ."

"No, I know. I understand . . . but . . . I'm not ready for the Hirashin. No way," said Naruto calmly. "Right now . . . that technique . . . would tear my body . . . and soul apart. Maybe in a few years, but not now. I hope you understand."

Kakashi was stunned by the adult attitude of the boy. Perhaps there was hope for him yet. "Ah . . . I understand. Meet me tomorrow . . . outside the onsen under Nidaime's monument."

"But I just said . . ." Naruto began to protest.

"Meet me brat," said Kakashi before he threw down a few Ryo to pay for their bowls.

Naruto stayed and ate a few more bowls before paying for his share and heading towards the Hokage's tower.

Naruto was very lucky to run into the Sandaime in the halls on his way back to his office from his own lunch.

"Oi, Ojisan," shouted Naruto as he saw the old man.

"Hello Naruto-kun," said the old man with a warm smile.

"I need to talk to you please," said Naruto trying to use some manners.

"Please?" questioned the Sandaime with a curious glance.

Naruto got an impatient look on his face before shouting, "Now!"

"Ah, now there's the Naruto I know," said Sandaime with a chuckle, "Come with me to my office and we'll talk."

Within the few minutes the pair sat down with some tea in one of Sandaime's smaller private rooms, "So, Naruto-kun, what can I do for you?"

Naruto produced a scroll from one of his vest pockets. He unfurled it quickly and bit into his thumb drawing a bit of blood which he quickly smeared across the writing on the scroll.

Sandaime smiled with pride to see how much Naruto had achieved with his sealing methods. With in a few seconds three more scrolls appeared.

"My father sealing scrolls," said Naruto, "I've finished with them. I thought it best I returned them to you."

"Well done Naruto, well done. You've grown quite a bit in the last year. But you keep those. They belong to your family and I am certain you'll be able to keep them safe now."

Naruto smiled before he frowned. Then he began shouting, "Do you have any idea how long it took to make that scroll? I spent two days making it so I could get the ink and seals just right."

Sarutobi laughed heartily, "I am sorry for the trouble. This will just give you reason to practice more. Now is there anything else?"

Naruto pouted, "Hmm . . . Is there another scroll? Something to start me into the advanced stuff?"

Sarutobi nodded, "Just wait a moment and I will get them." Sarutobi stood and walked over to one of the shelves in the room.

"Them?" questioned Naruto of the old man as he studied the shelves looking through scrolls.

Sarutobi nodded but stayed focused on his task. Finally he smiled and took just two scrolls from the shelf, "There we go. The last two sealing scrolls your father ever wrote." He then handed them over to Naruto. "Now, use them wisely. These have some of the most dangerous seals ever designed. Forbidden . . . no . . . Dangerous . . . yes. Learn these . . . and I just might let you read through the scroll of Forbidden Seals."

"Thank you," said Naruto politely and genuinely.

"I'm happy to pass these things down to you Naruto," said Sarutobi, "And now . . . I feel much better as there is nothing of your father's left in my possession."

"Ah, well, I should go. I'm supposed to have some sort of dinner with the Hyuga's this evening," said Naruto with a slight sneer.

Sarutobi chuckled, "Naruto, I can understand your reluctance but do try to be patient. You could learn a lot from Hiashi-sama and his family."

"Whatever old man," said Naruto, "I'm gonna go back to _that_ place and start working on a new scroll to seal away these scrolls."

Sarutobi nodded his acceptance to Naruto before the boy vanished in a flash of light. "The Yellow-Flash will once again light our way," said Sarutobi with a light chuckle as he lit of up his pipe.

**BREAK**

Dinner that evening was very awkward to say the least. Naruto and Harry hadn't the slightest clue about proper etiquette. Ginny barely survived it as she was from a pureblood wizard family. While her family was not well respected, there were some things that were taught to her and her brothers as children that just couldn't be forgotten. Etiquette was one of those things. Not that you'd ever know if you'd seen her brothers eating habits. Ginny wasn't practiced with the customs of the Shinobi world but she understood enough by studying Hinata who had perfect manners and etiquette that evening.

Finally the evening ended with Hiashi saying a very simple but important statement. "Hinata, you will teach your future husband proper table manners by the time the Chuunin finals commence or you'll go hungry from then until he learns."

Naruto was halfway across the table to kill Hiashi before he was restrained by Harry and Ginny both.

"Bastard," complained Naruto sitting back down crossing his arms angrily, "I'll be damned if I'm going to be responsible for that." He then looked to Hinata, "I hate to make you do this but I have to learn this shit. We'll meet every night for dinner until I get it right."

Poor Hinata didn't know how to react to Naruto's statement. Part of her was jumping for joy that she was going to eat dinner every night for a month with her crush. The other part of her that screamed back was the part that said he was only doing this because he had to do it and not because he wanted to spend time with her.

"O-O-Okay N-N-Naruto-kun," she barely mumbled out blushing heavily.

"I'm going to walk Ginny-chan home now," said Harry looking for any excuse to escape.

Harry couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, "That was rough."

"I can't believe they practice arranged marriage here," said Ginny in disgust, "But, at least Hinata now has a chance with Naruto. I doubt that blockhead would notice here any other way."

"Huh?" asked Harry confused, "What are you talking about? Are you saying that Hinata likes Naruto?"

"Well duh, of course she does. You mean you didn't notice?" asked Ginny, "Boys really are dumb."

"Are not," said Harry, "We just don't understand women. Never have, never will."

"Baka," said Ginny playfully hitting him upside the head, "Walk me home now."

Harry grinned before sneaking a small kiss causing the girl to blush horribly in the moonlight.

"Such acts are disgusting," said a cold voice that Harry had identified as Hyuga Neji. "You are a disgrace to this village and this . . . tart . . . should not have been allowed within the compound walls."

Harry was ready to tear the arrogant bastard apart but was stopped by Ginny putting her hand on his shoulder, "Just walk me home Harry-kun."

Harry reluctantly turned away from the bastard and walked Ginny home. He wasn't very good company at that point despite Ginny's attempts.

"I'll see you again in a few days. I'll be training pretty hard with Anko-sensei to prepare for the exam," said Harry.

"Then you'll see a lot of me. All I've done this summer is help out in the flower shop or train with Anko-psychobitch-sensei," said Ginny with a grin.

Harry finally laughed. "Okay, then I'll see you in the morning."

"Bye," said Ginny turning and entering the small flower shop.

Harry returned to the Hyuga manner.

"You would be wise to not bring that foreign trash within these walls again," said the snide, arrogant voice of Neji.

"You know, I'm getting really sick of hearing you talk down on everyone," said Harry ready to start a fight.

"You are not worth getting disqualified from the exams for," said Neji walking away with an arrogant sneer.

"Ooh, I'm so going to kick your ass," mumbled Harry as he walked through the mansion looking for one man.

He finally found him sitting in silence with his eyes closed in an open room devoid of furniture.

"Yo, Hiashi-teme," said Harry angrily not paying the slightest attention to his surroundings.

Hiashi opened his eyes at being disturbed so rudely by his most recent guest. He was only slightly surprised to see Harry and not Naruto standing before him.

"If you are here to argue on behalf of your cousin do not . . ."

"Che, Naruto can fend for himself. Your bloody arrogant ass nephew needs to get his ass kicked big time," said Harry barely controlling his temper.

"Neji?" question Hiashi.

"Yeah Neji, Mr. Stick-up-the-Ass himself. He insulted my guest when he was unprovoked and then he insulted me just moments ago," said Harry, "I could care less that he insulted me but I won't have him insulting Ginny-chan."

"And what would you have me do? Remove him from the exams and make him even more resentful?" asked Hiashi.

"Hell no," said Harry giving Hiashi a look that plainly told the man that Harry thought he was insane. "I want him in the tournament. More than that I want to kick his ass big time myself. I just want to make sure I'm not going to be kicked out if I do so."

Hiashi was slightly surprised by Harry's attitude and even more by his ambition. Hiashi calmly studied the boy. No doubt he had talent and ability . . . but would it be enough to beat the Hyuga prodigy of that generation. "And do you honestly believe you have the ability to do so?"

"Hell yeah," said Harry confidently even though he hadn't seen Neji fight since the academy days and that had been a long time ago.

"We shall see," said Hiashi as he stood, "You will meet me tomorrow morning at 5:00 am in the Zen garden. We shall see if you can defeat Neji."

"Huh?" asked Harry confused.

"Do not worry. I will have your instructor informed that you will be under my supervision for the next month while you train," said Hiashi.

"But what about Hinata and Hanibi?" asked Harry.

"Hanabi," said Hiashi correcting him, "Hanabi will be attending private tutoring all day tomorrow and everyday for the next three months. She is preparing to take the title of heiress now that Hinata had been engaged. Hinata is receiving training from her sensei along with her teammates. That means I am free to train you for the next month unhindered."

"Well that was unexpected," said Harry.

"Show me your arms," said Hiashi, "I want you to remember this tonight so you have an idea as to what you are really up against."

Harry was a bit reluctant but he presented his arms to Hiashi.

Faster than Harry could see Hiashi's arms flew striking each of his arms several times. "That is Jyuken. Remember it for it is what awaits you in your match again Neji. I have just closed your tenketsu. Do not fret, they shall re-open by morning but for now they shall remain closed and your arms unable to move. Be prepared." Hiashi then left the stunned and hurting Harry behind.

**BREAK**

"Good morning Ginny-chan," said the sickly sweet voice of Anko as she came to collect her charge.

"Ugh, it just had to be you that woke me up," complained Ginny, "Why didn't Harry wake me up?"

"Harry will be training with Hiashi-teme for the next month," said Anko with a bitter expression.

"Is that good or bad?" asked Ginny nervous of how Anko would react.

"Both," said Anko, "It's good because Harry will learn to fight against the Jyuken and thus have a better chance against Neji. However, it is also bad because I'm losing a torture victim for the next month. I guess you'll just have to suffice though. Bad news for you little girl."

"What about Naruto and Shikamaru? Shouldn't that be here to share in the torture?"

"Shikamaru is training with his father for the rest of the summer," said Anko, "And another Jounin requested to train Naruto for the next month. I'm not sure how that will work out but we'll see."

"Damn you Naruto no Baka and Harry no Baka," cursed Ginny using Ino's phrase.

"Just wait until they really hit puberty and then they'll really drive you mad," said Anko with a snicker.

"Gah," said Ginny smacking her forehead in disbelief.

"Now, enough of that," said Anko revealing several needles, "Let's see how fast you've gotten."

Ginny blanched before taking off in a dead sprint trying to wind her way between buildings to get away from her psychotic trainer.

Meanwhile across town Harry was grumbling angrily as he studied the tenketsu diagram that Hiashi had placed before him.

"You are not Hyuga, you never will be and you will therefore never be able to attack the tenketsu of a person. So why do I show this to you?"

"How the hell should I know?" asked Harry frustrated, "Maybe you're just trying to shove your 'supposed' superiority down my throat hoping to crush my spirit."

"Think brat," said Hiashi sharply cutting the boy off. "I will return in a few hours. I hope that by then you will not only have memorized this chart but also have a more suitable answer to my question." With that said Hiashi turned and walked away.

Harry just groaned once before he refocused his effort on learning the tenketsu diagram.

And yet on the other side of town a young many with vibrant blonde hair was starting to pull his hair out in frustration as he waiting for the horribly late Jounin that was supposed to train him. And then he heard it.

"Tee hee, oh yes, just bend over a little bit more," giggled a far too perverted voice.

Naruto twitched once. This man was going to get hurt for this. "Oi, pervert!"

The white haired man suddenly turned blanching white as there were numerous screeches from the women in the bath beyond.

"No, my research," shouted the pervert, "You've scared them all off. Now I'll have to come back later. You owe me. Do you know how much money that cost me brat?"

"How the hell did that cost you money?"

"I'm a writer. I was in the process of doing research for my new book," said the pervert.

Naruto twitched at the sight of the orange book that was so very famous among the perverts of the village.

"Ah, you're a big pervert," shouted Naruto pointing an accusing finger at him.

"NO!" said the man seriously, "I am . . . a SUPER PERVERT."

"Well then super pervert," said Naruto with a devious grin, "I'm going to punish you for your wicked ways." There was a sudden flash of light and Naruto disappearing with it.

The pervert was only surprised for a second as he caught the boy's leg rather easily using the forward motion to the throw the boy.

Naruto only let his own surprise at being caught show for only a moment before he attacked again with yet another flash of light.

The pervert smirked as he sidestepped the boy's next attack rather easily.

"Say, you're not bad brat," said the pervert with a laugh at Naruto.

Naruto let his anger brim for only a moment before he forced himself calm again. "Fine, if you want to play like that then let's go." Naruto pealed off his jacket and let it drop with an audible thud. Then he started pealing off weight tags one by one seeing the pervert was in no hurry.

"Oh, how interesting! You wear weight tags and quite a few of them too. I'm slightly impressed," said the pervert trying to annoy the brat.

"Don't be impressed yet," said Naruto as he lifted up his pant legs and removed even more weights.

"Well, well, well," said the pervert, "I'd say that was about 500 Kilograms. A bit excessive don't you think for such a young person."

Naruto chuckled, "Good guess, but wrong. Each leg alone was about 500 Kilograms. All told, I wear close to 2000 Kilos at all times."

Now that fact seemed to floor the pervert, "I suppose I should take you seriously then brat."

"Before I punish you for being such an open-pervert, what is your name?" asked Naruto.

"You don't know me? How could anyone in this era not know me? My books are famous around the world. For I am the Great Ladies Man himself, the man known for his incredible jutsu and intelligence. I am Jiraiya, the Gama Sennin of Konoha's Legendary Sannin." He finished with a flourish and summoned a toad large enough to stand on.

"You!" shouted Naruto pointing at him, "You're Jiraiya. You're the Toad Hermit that trained Yondaime?" Naruto simply couldn't believe that his father was taught by such a pervert.

"Ah, I see you have heard of me," said Jiraiya, "Then you know now that you can't possibly win against me. I suppose I could forgive you this time . . . but it will cost you."

"To hell with that. I don't care if you trained all of the Hokage's. I'm still going to kick your ass for being such an Ero-Sennin," shouted Naruto pointing a finger at the pervert.

"Eh? You still want to fight me?" asked Jiraiya confused by the brat that knew his prize pupil's technique so well.

"Of course," said Naruto, "Only now, I know I don't have to hold back at all." Naruto then pulled up his shirt to reveal several more weight tags much to the old man shock.

"Okay, okay, I get it," said Jiraiya trying to dissuade the boy, "Besides, would you rather I teach you something instead?"

Naruto paused in halfway through removing on of the tags stuck directly to his skin to think. "Hmmm . . . . hmmm . . . hmmm . . . . okay . . . but it had better be damn good or you're going to get it worse than I originally planned."

"Of course it will be good," said Jiraiya affronted by the loud blonde's ego, "Just put all your weight tags on again already."

"Che, fine Ero-Sennin," said Naruto as he began to replace his weights and tags.

"And don't call me that," shouted Jiraiya.

Naruto just waved the old man off, "Whatever Ero-Sennin, let's do this."

Back with Harry things weren't going much better. He'd pretty much memorized the tenketsu chart completely. However, he still had no idea why it was important in the slightest.

"So, have you made any progress?" asked Hiashi as he returned silently.

Harry jumped slightly at the man's return. He'd never sensed him returning.

"I've just about memorized the chart, but I still have no idea why it even matters," said Harry annoyed with the older man.

"Well . . . I suppose it is progress," said Hiashi, "Show me your arms again."

Harry was a bit hesitant but held his arms out none the less.

"How many tenketsu does each arm have?" asked Hiashi.

"Eight," said Harry.

"Nine," corrected Hiashi, "The diagram does not show the one in the inside of the upper arm very well. Now, can you tell me how many tenketsu I would need to close to immobilize your arm completely?"

Harry looked back at the chart to see if he missed something.

"You won't find it on the chart boy," said Hiashi.

"Then how should I know?" asked Harry annoyed with the old bastard.

"Let's experiment then shall we?" asked Hiashi as he tapped one of Harry arms on the inner point that Hiashi said wasn't marked well.

Harry suddenly lost all feeling in that arm. "Just one."

"Perhaps," said Hiashi as he tapped another point on Harry's still working arm.

Harry flexed the most recently tapped arm and found he had full range of motion, just a bit slower than usual.

"Okay, so each tenketsu has a different effect on the arm," said Harry.

"Good, now why is that important?" asked Hiashi.

"If you know which tenketsu does what you can target it or my case, try to avoid that specific hit," said Harry.

"Now, why is it important for you to know about tenketsu locations?"

"To learn to guard my body against attacks to the more vital tenketsu," said Harry as if a light suddenly turned on.

"Good, but . . ." Hiashi then tapped three other points on Harry's arm once more causing it to go numb as well.

"Shit," said Harry as both arms hung limply at his sides.

"Now, do you honestly believe that you can defend yourself completely from tenketsu attacks?" asked Hiashi.

"Damn it, so what? Are you telling me it isn't possible to defend myself again Neji?" demand Harry angrily. He wanted to shake his fists at the man but neither was in the mood to move.

"Think," said Hiashi tapping his forehead protector. He then turned and walked away again.

"Grrraaahh," growled Harry out loud in frustration and anger.

Ginny wasn't having much better of a day. Anko was truly possessed today without the boys to take out her frustrations on.

"Sit," ordered Anko to Ginny.

Ginny was only too happy to oblige as she collapsed to the ground breathing heavily.

"Tell me girl," said Anko, "Have you ever seen a wizard use magic without a wand?"

"You mean like you shinobi with your hand seals?" asked Ginny still gasping for breath.

"No, I mean cast a spell without a wand," said Anko with a thoughtful look on her face.

"It's impossible," said Ginny, "Spells require such an extremely refined focus and control that they can only be created with a wand or amulet or even a magical stave."

"Hmmm, but I wonder," said Anko, "You know how to shape the magic with your wand yes?"

"Well yes but the shape has to be so exactly and precise that it would be impossible to generate without a wand," explained Ginny.

"Then how do you explain accidental magic or wizards using extremely simple spells accidentally without a wand. Like your 'lumos' spell. I've seen Harry light up his wand from across the room with that."

"But the spell is still being reshaped by the wand once the magic get there. The same with summoning a wand to oneself. Accidental magic is just that accidental. It's impossible to recreate the same results more than once. I realize that your hand seals can also shape magic but the form is much more crude and unrefined. Highly destructive even. I've had a chance ask Ino about medical jutsu and she said that the control has to be perfect. That would be the closest to wand control I think possible from ninja techniques," Ginny explained.

"But you just said it there. It is possible to have that kind of control over your magic without a wand," said Anko with a demonic gleam in her eyes.

"But the magic was shaped first and then refined, the opposite of magic with a wand," said Ginny confused as to why Anko was pushing so hard on this issue.

"Then you've got your work cut out for you my little guinea pig," said Anko, "You're going to learn to refine your magic and then shape it without a wand to create a true wandless magic."

Ginny was stunned. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be done. Hundreds of wizards had tried and died in the process. But there was a betraying thought that sung through her head. They were all older when they tried and didn't not have the benefit of both wizard and shinobi training.

"I think you could do it," said Anko thoughtful again. "Neither Harry nor Naruto will ever have the control for it despite their over abundance of magic. But you, you have great control already and your reserves are growing steadily. I think that if you were to start now, you just might be able to do it. But it means we're going to have to improve your control far beyond even what it is now. Hundreds of times great than it is now. The training alone to gain such a level of control could quite possibly kill you. But . . . if you were to succeed. You would be one truly terrifying witch, one whose safety Harry would never have to worry over."

That last sentence completely sold Ginny on the idea even more than all the benefits put together from learning such an ability. "How do we start?"


	19. Chapter 19

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

The month passed rapidly as time seemed to hold no meaning to the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf during this important time of training and celebration. The Exam Finals were only a day away now and the excited atmosphere was really charged up for it.

Naruto's lesson passed by every evening without fail. He struggled through it as it was just so boring to him and Hinata wasn't much help. She was always mumbling in her usual way and had nothing to contribute to the conversation that Naruto would attempt to hold with her. Eventually he ended up going to the library and getting a book on etiquette to help him along.

Harry and Ginny rarely saw each other and when they did, they were both usually very distracted by their training, something which neither was willing to talk about with the other. It was lucky for them they were ordered by Anko to spend the evening before the exam together and away from the Hyuga household. Naruto would have enough to deal with that night without them.

To say Hiashi was pleased with his two charges would have been an understatement. He was very pleased with Harry. Harry was brilliant once he was given a task if only a bit slow to fully understand. He couldn't say the same for his godson. Naruto was diligent in his etiquette lessons and took them quite seriously. However, Naruto made no attempts to get closer to his future wife. He hoped that the etiquette lessons would have helped to open her up but if anything she seemed to withdraw into herself even further. Worse was Naruto's frustration with Hinata showing in his getting a book to learn etiquette from instead of Hinata. Things in this realm did not bode well for the future. He could only hope at this point that thing would improve.

Dinner that evening was perfect. Naruto used perfect table manners throughout and spoke only of appropriate topics. Hiashi was pleased but at the same annoyed as he watched Naruto and Hinata look everywhere but at each other.

With the completion of the meal Hiashi stood and left. He was slightly surprised when Naruto caught up to.

"Hey," said Naruto reverting to his comfortable speech pattern, "I just wanted to say two things. Thank you for allowing me and Harry to live here. I know we're an inconvenience to you and your clan. We'll try to make our stay here as quite as possible until we have to return to our mission."

"And the second?" asked Hiashi with a frown at the boy's words.

Naruto shocked Hiashi when he punched him knocking him to the floor. "You listen to this part good you bastard. I won't say it again. I'll play by your rules, learn what you want me to learn, and fulfill my duty. But don't you ever play me like that again by using Hinata as a pawn in your game. You want me to do something you tell me to do it and I get it done. Don't ever involve someone else like that again if your problem is with me." Naruto then turned and stalked away once more calm and collected as he was when he first approached Hiashi.

Hiashi actually let out a small snort of laughter and disbelief at the boy. Hiashi could have easily stopped the punch but he was honestly shocked by it after such a heartfelt thank you before hand. "He is indeed your son Arashi." Hiashi's respect for the boy grew immensely after that night as he realized the boy's true intensions. It was just as Harry had said when the betrothal was first announced. Naruto would do his duty but he certainly didn't have to like it. It was then he realized that Naruto would get to know Hinata in his own time and his own way when the time was right for him and not on Hiashi's terms.

Hinata had watched the entire exchange in some horror from the dinning room. In that one punch, Hinata saw her entire future with Naruto come crashing down, shattered and broken against the rocks.

Naruto re-entered the dining room with a happy smile, "Damn that felt good. You should try it sometime Hinata. It's really satisfying."

Hinata though had tears brimming in her eyes for fear.

"Ah," said Naruto in frustration and he ran his hand through his hair. He had really hoped his last sentence would spark some kind of reaction from the girl. Instead she just sat there unmoving and she looked to be on the verge of tears too. "I just don't get you," he finally shouted at her causing her to shy away.

"Stop that," said Naruto stomping forward and placing his hand on her chin and turning her head to look at him, "Look at me. I know you're not happy about being forced into this but the least you could do is look at me and talk to me."

Hinata looked at Naruto shocked. She couldn't believe that was what Naruto thought. Suddenly realizing how close they were Hinata shied away from him rapidly.

"Humph," grunted Naruto before he turned and left the room and then the entire manor. He would sleep that night on one of the training fields away from that place.

**BREAK**

"Gah, where the hell is he?" questioned Harry in frustration as he looked at the assembled fighters for the tournament for his cousin.

"Listen up," said the new examiner, "As you can see there has been a change to the brackets. Dosu Kinuta has withdrawn and as Kazama Naruto is not present he is hereby disqualified. So, fight two will be Hyuga Hinata vs. Sabaku no Gaara."

"So, will all examinees please proceed to the waiting area except for Potter Harry and Hyuga Neji," said the examiner.

Harry sighed in disappointment. Naruto shouldn't have missed this for anything.

Harry took his place across from the Hyuga prodigy. Even if he was miffed by Naruto's absence, he was still going to take great pleasure in stomping this pompous ass into the ground.

"You know the rules but just to be sure. You fight until one of you is no longer able to compete," said the examiner as he shifted his senbon toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other.

Harry and Neji both nodded though they never took their eyes off of each other. Things were about to get intense.

"Hajime," called the examiner causing both participants to vanish in a blur of motion.

Just as quickly as they started they separated, Harry shaking his arm out a bit and Neji flexing both of his hands wincing in pain a bit.

"Didn't care for that eh?" asked Harry with a grin even though he was wincing a bit inside from the pain and slight numbness in his arm.

"Interesting technique you have developed," said Neji coldly, "However, fate has already decided this battle."

"You're right it has," said Harry, "You lose."

Neji snarled at the cocky boy getting angry.

Harry lowered his stance crossing both arms in front of himself with his palms facing Neji both crackling with blue pools of chakra.

This time Neji attacked again intent on finishing what he began the first time. He was highly surprised when the chakra he released from his fingertips when he struck Harry was not only incredibly weakened but dispersed instead of concentrating into a single pin of chakra.

"Hmm," said Neji in surprise as he felt two sharp stabs into his elbow joint causing his entire arm to scream in pain but also to go limp at his side.

"What's wrong? Surprised?" asked Harry, "Your Jyuken is useless now. I've fried the nerves in your finger tips in that first exchange. They'll be funky for days."

"Humph, you think you've already won," said Neji, "but my finger tips are not all that make up Jyuken."

Harry didn't like the sound of that but he wasn't about to back down now. Harry attacked ruthlessly with his Hebi-do trying to cripple the boy as quickly as possible. He was stunned by the open hand block to his inner arm causing his entire arm to go numb. He knew then that his tenketsu had been struck.

"You can use Jyuken from more than just your finger tips," said Harry as he realized what happened.

"It is said that only a master of Jyuken can attack from any tenketsu on his body if it makes contact with another. You're about to find out why I am a prodigy of this cursed clan," said Neji angrily.

"Cursed clan," shouted Harry trying to buy some time to think up a new plan now that his arm was useless and Neji was getting feeling back in his other arm. "What are you talking about?"

"So be it," said Neji, "I shall tell you the fate of the Hyuga clan's branch family and curse we bare."

Harry was only vaguely aware of Neji's yammering about his fate this and fate that as he was rapidly working out a plan to get around the Hyuga .

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, pity me, my father's dead, boo hoo hoo," mocked Harry, "You don't have a clue what it means to have a tough life you pompous ass. You've grown up in a home filled with family even if they are cold bastards. You've never had to worry if you'd have food the next day or if there would another assassination attempt on you after you went to sleep at night. My own parents were both murdered in cold blood and you don't see me crying over it. Grow up, get a life you crybaby."

Neji was incensed at Harry's words. He charged in blindly planning to kill him in one blow. Neji's hand was moving for the killing blow when Harry smiled and vanished. Neji instantly began his Kaiten to protect himself from whatever the boy had planned. When he came out of the spin there was still nothing. It was stunning when he felt a sudden and horrible pain shoot through both of his legs. He looked down to see two small snakes biting into the backs of his ankles. Neji blinked once as things became blurry around him.

Harry seemed to grow up out of the ground, "I didn't plan to use them yet you know. But I couldn't very well lose now, now could I? Don't worry, they won't kill you. Only knock you out for a few hours and throw off your coordination for a few days. Still, it won't be pleasant."

"Winner, Potter Harry," said the examiner as Neji dropped to the ground. Upon Neji hitting the ground the serpents hissed at Harry before disappearing in puffs of smoke having finished their jobs.

**BREAK**

"Oi brat," called Jiraiya.

"What do you want Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto as he looked away from his cloud gazing.

"Ain't you supposed to be fighting in the exam finals?" asked Jiraiya.

"What's the point?" asked Naruto with a shrug as he turned his gaze back to the clouds. "I've been told I wouldn't be able to pass no matter how well I do. At least this way the others still have a chance."

Jiraiya settled himself down next to the brat, "Hmmm, I see. But don't think your friends would like you to cheer them on?"

"Ah," said Naruto, "They won't miss me much . . . except maybe Harry."

"What about that girl I've seen around you all the time?" asked Jiraiya.

"What girl?" asked Naruto oblivious to what the old man was talking about.

"That Hyuga girl that's always following you around from the shadows. You mean you've never noticed her following you?" asked Jiraiya with a hearty laugh.

"Must have been Hinata. She was probably only following me to try and find a way out of this damn betrothal," said Naruto with a sigh. "I just don't get her you know. I understand that she doesn't like this betrothal but the least she can do is talk to me about it. Shoot, if she's so against it I'm sure we could work together to break the damn contract."

Jiraiya chuckled at the boy, "Brat, I want you to think for just a minute. What if . . . and I understand this is a huge 'if' . . . that girl was following you around because she likes you. What 'if' she actually wants to marry you? What 'if' she is just really shy and doesn't know how to talk to you?"

"But that's just silly," said Naruto not liking what the old man had to say, "What in the world could someone like her see in someone like me?"

"Tell me brat, what do you know about her from her academy days?"

"Well, she's a bit weird, and dark. I suppose you could say she's shy," said Naruto scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm, interesting," said Jiraiya, "A shy girl following around a boy she has a crush on."

"What do you know pervert?" asked Naruto getting upset with the old man, "She can't like me. She just can't like someone like me. She's too good for me. I'm just some . . . some demon-vessel who talks too much about a dream that can never come true because of all the damn prejudices of this village. She deserves better than that."

Jiraiya looked on the boy solemnly, "How will you know unless you give her the chance to decide for herself?"

Naruto silenced completely for a fair bit of time. "Ah, I think I have to be somewhere."

Jiraiya nodded, "Alas, so do I."

**BREAK**

Hinata was still filled sick with grief from the previous night. She couldn't believe Naruto thought that she didn't want this marriage. It was all she ever dreamed of for her future. It was her fault though. She never said or did anything to convince him otherwise. During the dinners for the last month she struggled to explain things to him and as he got more frustrated she continued to get more flustered. It didn't leave the best impression on him certainly. And now, he didn't even think she was worthy to fight or worse maybe he just didn't want to see her ever again. All these thoughts and more raced through Hinata's head as she walked down the long tunnel towards the arena for her fight with the boy from sand that scared her like no other had in her entire life.

The funny thing was, this fight was not a concern to her at that time. She was more worried about Naruto and what he must think of her. As result, she did not notice the perplexed expression on the face of her opponent.

Gaara did not understand this girl before him. The majority of the stadium was pulling back from him in fear of the killing intent he was unleashing. It was terribly daunting and yet this slip of girl didn't even twitch. She didn't even acknowledge his presence before him. The only person who had ever unnerved him so was that boy from the second exam.

"Hyuga-san," said the examiner shaking her out of her thought.

Hinata looked up and suddenly realized where she was, "Ah, gomen." She bowed to the instructor before she looked to Gaara. "Gomen nasai Gaara-san. I am sorry for making you wait," she stuttered out.

"Mother," mumbled Gaara not really paying attention.

"Pardon?" stuttered Hinata worried now for the fight. Gaara seemed to have become unstable.

"Mother, I'll get you your blood. I promise I will mother," he continued to mumble to himself.

"Hajime," said the judge.

Sand shot like a bullet towards Hinata trying to ensnare her.

She swatted the sand away using her Jyuken style of fighting but it seemed to have little or no effect on the sand other than to cause it to fall to the ground limp for a few seconds.

"Why?" demanded Gaara angry, "Why can't I grab you?"

Hinata though was in full retreat from the sand that seemed to be coming from several angles all at once. It was the first time she ever truly wanted to use the Kaiten technique but she had neither the knowledge nor the chakra to do so.

Suddenly Hinata felt the ground beneath her move causing her to trip. When she looked she saw that she was standing on sand. Panic gripped her as she saw the sadistic smile of a true murderer on her opponents face. She knew then that she was about to die.

But nothing happened. Thinking she was dead instantly without the pain that should have been there, she opened her eyes and saw something much more terrifying.

"K-K-Kyubi," she mumble at see the nine-tailed fox protecting her his tails providing an impenetrable wall around her.

"Ah, Hinata," growled the voice, "When the tails separate, run."

Hinata was frozen.

"Hinata," snapped the voice breaking her out of her stupor, "When the tails separate RUN!"

Hinata could hardly nod.

The tails separated allowing Hinata the chance to run. She only glanced back over her shoulder once to see that Gaara had changed into a fat raccoon looking creature with one tail. More amazing was that the Kyubi was fighting him. He was protecting her.

"You will not hurt them," said the Kyubi angrily as he batted the boy into the stadium wall.

The sand monster stood, "Yes, this is what I was waiting for. I'm going to destroy you!"

Hinata was interrupted from watching when the examiner gathered her up and leapt up to the safety of the competitor's waiting area.

As soon as she was set down again she looked back to the fight in the center of the arena.

The two monsters were battling back and forth fiercely. Each clean hit shaking the very foundation of the stadium itself.

"Is that it?" asked the Suna shinobi with face paint, "Is that the one that beat him before?"

"It's him," said the blond Suna girl, "It's the nine-tails vessel."

"I thought Gaara was terrifying," said the boy, "But this kid . . . this kid brings the terror feelings to a whole new level."

"Yeah," shouted Harry, "Come on Naruto!" Harry was extremely relieved to see Naruto arrive in the nick of time like that. He was about to step in himself as it was.

"Naruto?" questioned the other Konoha Genin that were waiting.

Harry cringed but chose to ignore them and watch the fight. The hardest to ignore by far was Hinata's look of shock.

Hinata looked back at the fight sharply after hearing Harry call the Kyubi, Naruto. The Suna-nin called him a vessel. Could he really be a vessel for such a terrible monster?

His thoughts and the thoughts of all the participants were shaken when several explosions sounded throughout the village and Oto-nin began to appear in the stadium.

"We're under attack," said the Judge, "Defend yourselves and the civilians."

The two Suna-nin quickly tried to retreat only to be cut off by Harry and Shino.

"Going somewhere?" asked Harry as he pulled out his sword, "I believe we still have a fight to settle."

Shino just nodded towards the make-up boy.

"Shit," said Temari, "It's all starting too soon. That Kyubi vessel has thrown off all our plans."

"That's too bad," said Harry, "Now let's dance."

**BREAK**

Things were not going well for Naruto. He'd been forced to use his Kyubi-hybrid form in front of a lot of villagers to protect Hinata. Worse though was that he was rapidly draining his chakra reserves.

"I'm going to kill you!" shouted Gaara in his demon form.

"Maybe . . . but I'm taking you with me then," said Naruto breathing heavily. He wasn't in good shape and Gaara seemed to be getting stronger.

"**Kya ha ha ha ha ha," **howled the Kyubi through his mind, "**This is too much fun. You have to let me fight him. I'll teach him how a proper wind-demon should fight."**

"_NO!"_ shouted Naruto through his mind. "_I won't risk this entire village to let you out to play for a bit."_

"**Well you'd better do something soon or you'll get us both killed and frankly . . . that is unacceptable."**

"_I can't help how much chakra this form sucks up."_

"**That's because you're still using your Human chakra to fuel the form. Your demon chakra is just barely present. That body is not meant for Human chakra or Demon chakra alone. You are hybrid now act like it you pitiful weakling."**

It was like a flash or realization burned through Naruto. Yes, he and the demon shared a chakra system but the fact was he still tended to differentiate the two and draw only on his human chakra unless he absolutely had to for fear of the dangers it presented. But what would an equal mix of the two do?

"Only one way to find out," said Naruto as he forced down his own chakra to mix with the demon chakra before he pulled it up as one chakra again.

The chakra explosion from Naruto blew Gaara back into one of the stadium walls.

"Well, that was a surprise," said Naruto as suddenly felt no strain from maintaining the hybrid form. In fact, he felt better than ever now as he rolled his neck allowing it to pop several times. "Let's get wild!"

Naruto vanished instantly from sight only to reappear in front of Gaara and pound him mercilessly into the stadium wall. Naruto was blasted away by a wind burst from Gaara's mount.

"Fuuton: Renkuudan," shouted Gaara several times firing numerous air bullets at Naruto.

Naruto scrambled to dodge the blasts as they tour through the stadium floor and walls rather mercilessly.

"**Baka, you're going to get us killed. Use your damn tails!"**

"_Care to explain how?"_ asked Naruto as he continued to dive and roll out of the way of the air bullets.

"**Baka, chakra, channel the chakra through your tails. Compress the chakra then release it like a whip!"**

"_I'm in the middle of a fight. I don't have time to figure this out!"_

"**You'd better figure it out fast or we're dead you idiot. Just as our chakra is nearly unlimited now that it is mixing properly so is his. So just do it and don't get killed until you get it right!"**

"_Baka Kitsune!"_

Naruto was getting annoyed now. He couldn't get close to Gaara now. The sand would protect him in close and then those damn air bullets were becoming more and more powerful.

"I've got to hurry or he's going to destroy the entire stadium," said Naruto to himself. "Fine, we'll try this your way fox." Naruto was more than annoyed at this point. He was repeatedly dodging while trying to focus charka to his tails and then compress it all at once.

Naruto was rushed so he rapidly pushed the chakra into his tails. He was slightly surprised at the tingling sensation it created almost instantly. The tails seemed to naturally collect the chakra. It was even more surprising when the chakra compressed almost instantly. Suddenly he realized that the tails were natural focuses.

"**Good, you finally understand. Now get some distance and bring all of your tails to a single point. Push the chakra out of your tails into one solid mass. It should create a massive turbulence in the air."**

Naruto did as the fox instructed and just as the fox said the entire stadium began to shake uncontrollably. The very hair was vibrating.

"**Now, unless you want to destroy the entire city, something I would not mind much personally, I would get yourself airborne now. Once in air the start spinning as fast as you can. Once you've lined up your shot, let if go. Be sure you aim for Shukaku or might have to do this all over again."**

Once again Naruto followed orders of the fox. Now was not the time to argue or question the fox's motives in helping. Their survival was at stake and that was enough for him. Naruto jumped hard clearing the top of the stadium rather easily and began his spin. He seemed to build up speed naturally as the purple ball of chakra seemed to suck in the wind around it creating a natural spin to it.

His speed got to be so great he was having trouble seeing straight. He did notice though that Gaara seemed to be charging up for his own counter.

"Please let this work," said Naruto as he released his hold on the chakra. At first it seemed as thought entire world slowed to nothing in that instant. And all at once it all sped up again as the ball Naruto released flew at an incredible speed direct at Gaara.

Gaara thought release his own attack, "Fuuton, Renkuudan Bakuhatsu!" This time Gaara release a massive ball of air.

Naruto saw Gaara counter and pulled himself into a ball prepared for the backlash of the two attacks meeting in mid air.

"**This is going to good!" **howled the Kyubi excitedly.

Naruto watched as his attack hit the air blast only for the air blast disperse on contact without so much as a ripple afterwards. And yet, Naruto's attack continued on target slightly smaller than when originally release.

Gaara stared wide-eyed as the Kyubi's attack pierce straight through his attack. He could do nothing as the attack his him dead center in the chest and exploding blasting away all of his protective sand. He felt himself get cut hundreds of times in an instant.

When the dust settled and Naruto landed, he looked to see the results. Lying there was an extremely bloody and completely unconscious Gaara. Naruto walked forward slowly only to jump back again when Gaara turned his head and looked at him. The cuts began closing themselves very slowly much to Naruto great concern. However when Gaara suddenly coughed up a big blob of blood and winced in pain Naruto knew the fight was over. Gaara had nothing left.

"Why?" Gaara finally gasped out, "Why do you fight so hard? And for people who hate your very existence?"

"Yeah, most people hate me," said Naruto as he shifted back into his human form. "But there are those that can see beyond the demon imprisoned within. Those people, they are the ones I fight for most of all. But you know what, even if its just one person at a time, I'll show them all that I am Kazama Naruto and not that which I hold prisoner. So let me warn you now, you try to hurt my precious people again . . . and I'll kill you. This is the only second chance you'll get." With that said, Naruto fell forward unconscious.

Up in the stands still fighting it out with Temari, Harry just noticed Naruto collapse and rushed to his side, "Naruto."

Temari did likewise for Gaara though much more cautiously. Then she saw that her opponent let his guard down.

"Enough," said Gaara stopping Temari from using her technique, "That's enough. It is time for us to leave."

Temari was surprised by Gaara but nodded her agreement.

"Help me up," said Gaara holding out a hand for Temari.

Temari was hesitant to reach out to him but did nonetheless. She was surprised when the sand didn't even twitch.

"Do not worry," said Gaara, "Shukaku sleeps heavily now. He is quiet for now. Let us leave."

Temari nodded before leaping away with her brother.

"Naruto man, hang on buddy," said Harry as he hoisted up Naruto. He checked to remove the weight tags first only to see they had all burned up probably from using the Kyubi chakra so heavily in that fight. "I'm gonna get you help, just hold on."

"You did great Naruto-kun," whispered Hinata as she took Naruto's other arm and shoulder to help Harry.

Harry was extremely surprised to see Hinata next to him helping. She looked a bit beat up with a few cuts and scratches but okay for the most part.

"What happened to you?" asked Harry.

"I-I-I w-was h-h-helping Sh-Sh-Shino-san," stuttered Hinata.

"Is he okay?" asked Harry.

"I-I-I'm not s-s-sure," said Hinata, "H-He told m-me t-t-to help you."

"Thanks," said Harry, "Now let's go."


	20. Chapter 20

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

Hinata looked on at Naruto fretfully. Even when he was unconscious she could hardly stand to be in the same room with him. Just looking at him made her stomach flip-flop wildly hoping to escape. But she was here with a purpose.

"I know," started Hinata with a horrible stutter, "I know I'm a horrible coward. I want so much to tell you when you're awake but I can't. I'm too much of a coward."

Hinata paused and took some daring breaths before gaining a bit more nerve approach his bed, "You see, when I first heard about our betrothal I was happy . . . so very happy . . . because I knew . . . you see my father . . . I am a disappointment to him and the clan . . . I know I'm a disappointment to you too . . . but I'm happy to marry you . . . because I know that . . . that even if you do not love me . . . you will protect me . . . and maybe . . . maybe you'll care for me too . . . even if just a little."

Hinata breathed out a shaky breath, "I'm sorry I'm such a coward that I cannot tell you this to your face but I have to tell you somehow. I . . . I . . . I love you Naruto-kun. You're my inspiration to become better . . . even if I never succeed . . . I still try so hard . . . I hope . . . I keep hoping that someday . . . maybe . . . you'll notice me . . . but I know that will never happen." Hinata looked down with tears in her eyes, "I'm too much of a coward . . . but at least . . . I said it out loud . . . with you near . . . forgive me for being such a coward."

"Ah," said a voice interrupting her thoughts, "You're not a coward Hinata . . . and . . . thank you for caring."

Hinata looked up at Naruto half-conscious nearly closed eyes in shock. Naruto simply smiled his normal foxy grin before closing his eyes and sleeping once again. However, now there was a strangely content smile on his face.

Hinata hardly smiled before she fainted. Luckily there was a chair waiting to catch her.

"Well done daughter," said Hiashi with a slight smirk. "Perhaps just this once . . . I'll do something . . . Arashi-like." He then scooped up his daughter and carefully placed her in be next to Naruto. He then carefully arranged both of them so as to appear to be snuggling.

Hiashi was only slightly surprised by the bright flashes of a camera going off.

"I'll expect copies of those," said Hiashi with a slight smirk, "Just be sure you remember . . . I was never here."

"Hah, same goes for me you old bastard," said the sadistic voice of Anko.

"Then we understand each other perfectly," said Hiashi before he and Anko both vanished without a trace.

**BREAK**

"Alright Harry and Ginny," said a rather irritated voice drawing both of their attentions, "Time to go."

"What about Naruto and Shikamaru?" asked Harry worriedly.

"Not my decision," said Anko with a sneer, "The village elders have changed the mission for now. Dumbledore had a hell of time getting them to accept the mission at all. They relented because you're an outsider and I'm one of two village pariahs."

"Naruto should at least be able to come too," argued Harry, "He's as much a village pariah as you are."

"Ah, that might be true," said Anko with a distant look, "But he's been given another mission for now. If he's successful . . . he might be able to rejoin us in a few months."

Harry and Ginny both nodded solemnly accepting things for the way they were. They were very lucky to be able to return to Hogwarts at all, especially with the state the village was in.

"Now, grab hold and let's go," said Anko holding out the portkey to the pair.

They both touched their finger to the shoe only to feel a lurch behind their navel pulling them to their destination.

Once they landed again Anko stood up briskly to walk toward the looming castle doors. "I'm only going to say this once so you'd both better listen carefully. Nothing seen or learned this summer is to be shown or told to any professor but especially not Dumbledore. Second, if your friends ask about Naruto or Shikamaru just tell them that something came up but they might be joining us later in the year. Clear?"

"Yes ma'am," they both said sullenly.

"Good, now the feast should already be well underway so let's hurry," said Anko as she continued forward and into the Great Hall. It seemed the meal was about to come to an end.

"Ah, welcome back Anko-sensei," said Dumbledore in greetings as he was only just to begin his start of term speech.

Anko nodded to the elderly man brusquely before taking her seat leaving Harry and Ginny to fend for themselves.

"Ginny," said Ron as soon as Harry and her sat, "Mum's been having kittens about you. Ever since your return deadline passed she's been a right nightmare. You were supposed to be back almost a week ago."

"Shut up Ron," said Ginny rather harshly turning her attention to Dumbledore's speech. She had a deep feeling it would be most important.

"Welcome students to yet another year. I'm afraid this year begins on a rather darker note with the escape of the convict Sirius Black. As such we will be playing host to a group of dementors from Azkaban Prison. I will warn you only once, the dementors are not to be trifled with. They will kill you if you get in their way or do anything to provoke them in the slightest. I beg of you children, do not give them that chance."

"And thus I believe it time for you all to trot," said Albus gravely.

Harry and Ginny both gave a curious look to their friends.

"That was different," said Harry, "What are dementors exactly?"

"The guards of Azkaban," said Ginny, "They feed on happiness and make you relive your worst moments. I'm more concerned with the Sirius Black escape. No one has ever escaped from Azkaban Prison before." Ginny then turned a questioning look to her brother, "What's going on?"

"No one knows," said Ron, "That's why it's such a big deal."

"So why are the dementors here? It's obvious they think that Black is coming but I can't help but wonder why?" asked Harry.

"Black was once a big supporter of you-know-who. Apparently someone let slip to him that you are here so it's assumed he'll come after you," explained Neville.

Harry chuckled at that thought, "Then let him come. It's his funeral."

"Harry, you shouldn't take this so lightly," chided Hermione.

"Hermione, I have to agree with Harry," said Ginny trying not to elaborate too much. She'd seen her own share of horrors during the Konoha invasion. Death Eaters have nothing on shinobi.

"But Ginny, he escaped the inescapable," said Hermione, "I know Harry's strong and skilled but we have no idea just how powerful Black really is. For all we know he could actually be more powerful than you-know-who."

"Why are you all saying you-know-who again? His name is Voldemort or Tom Riddle. What's gotten in to you that you've become afraid again?" asked Harry slightly perturbed.

"It's just scary again," said Ron, "With Black on the loose there is no telling how long it will be before he comes back. Dad says its like during the first war all over again, you don't know who you can trust and who you can't."

"Bollix," said Ginny, "I don't agree with that in the slightest."

"Come on," said Harry, "Let's just go back to the tower."

"Where is Naruto anyway?" asked Neville. The others had noticed the absence of Naruto and Shikamaru right away but had been unable to ask before now.

"He had to take care of some things. He'll probably be a few months," said Harry trying to end the conversation as quickly as possible.

"And Shikamaru?" questioned Hermione more annoyed than anything with the missing lazy boy.

"He was too lazy to come back," said Ginny trying to gain a laugh.

"I don't know if he'll ever come back to school here," said Harry, "This summer . . . it was really rough and some things happened. That's all I'm allowed to say."

"And don't bother asking me," said Ginny, "I've got rules to follow too in this. Harry has said as much as either of us is allowed to say so leave it alone if you know what's good for you."

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley," interrupted the voice of a rather annoyed Deputy Headmistress, "I will need to borrow the both of you for a few moments of your time. Come with me."

"We'll see you all back at the tower," said Harry as he turned to follow McGonagall.

Ginny and Harry followed along with McGonagall silently knowing better than to ask questions based on her mood.

"Candied Apples," McGonagall said when she reached the gargoyle that blocked the entrance to Dumbledore's office causing the stone monolith to slide out of the way.

"Welcome back young ones," greeted Dumbledore with a warm smile that was thrown askew by the shriek of one Molly Weasley.

"Oh my little girl!" shouted Molly as she rush to envelope her daughter in a giant hug. Harry was very surprised when he too was pulled into the hug. He was especially surprised because couldn't tell it was coming until he was already in the hug. His attention level should have not been so relaxed to have something like that happen without him knowing it before hand.

"Mum," wheezed Ginny, "Air."

Molly broke the hug and gave her daughter a once over, "You're okay. No injuries or permanent damage?"

Harry and Ginny both gave a rather sharp look to the headmaster. Just what had the old man told her?

"Molly insisted on coming to see you both this evening after hearing about accident with the wards at your summer academy. She was very concerned as she was unable to get any postage through to either of you," said Albus, "I was very concerned myself when I heard about it. To think that such a malicious prank could transpire at such a well respected academy."

"You two had nothing to do with the prank that trapped you all did you?" asked Molly concerned that Ginny and Harry had finally gone too far with their usually harmless pranks.

"No mum, it was one of the older students," said Ginny picking up the story, "No one was hurt thankfully."

"Indeed, we must be thankful for small favors," said Albus his twinkle noticeably dimmer than usual. "Now Ginny, why don't you walk with your mother back to the dorm. I would like to chat with young Mr. Potter for a bit longer."

Ginny nodded slightly reluctant to leave Harry on his own right now.

"It's alright," said Harry to reassure her, "I'll be just behind you."

Ginny smiled slightly before leaving with her mother who was jabbering away in her ear about everything she missed that summer.

"Harry, please have a seat, this might take a while," said Albus losing a bit of the warmth that was present not long ago.

Harry politely refused by continuing to stand. Then not so politely he stood at attention as if he were before an employer and not a friendly old man.

"So be it Harry," said Dumbledore, "Harry, it has become clear to me that it is no longer be safe for you to return to Konoha. You are far too valuable to let you die in war that has nothing to do with you."

"Nothing to do with me sir?" questioned Harry sternly, "That is my home, I would die happily defending it just as Naruto or Shikamaru or even Anko-sensei would. I'm well aware of the risks and quite frankly I don't really give a damn."

"Harry, you need to listen to me now. It is no longer safe for you there. You have no idea how much it took just to convince your council to allow you and Anko return here. It was quite apparent to me that if you hadn't come they might have had you assassinated. Sarutobi is gone and the odds that the next Hokage will be as soft or as caring is nigh impossible. You will be safe here with us where you belong. You are a wizard Harry, first and foremost. Being a shinobi is just a means to an end to keep you safer in this world, the world you belong to and the world that will need you more than you could ever possibly imagine."

"Then enlighten me, why am I so important to this world and not to the world that raised and protected me? Tell me why I am so damn important to you that you would force me to sacrifice my ability to help my village and my family permanently?"

Albus suddenly lost the fire in his eyes. He knew then that he would have to come up with a very good reason or risk losing Harry forever. He knew he could no longer withhold certain truths from him.

"So be it . . ."

**BREAK**

"So anyway Bill says hello and says that he missed seeing you this summer," finished Molly to her one and only daughter, "Now, tell me about that summer program of yours. Did you have fun with Naruto and Harry?"

"Not as much as I would have liked," said Ginny, "They are both a year ahead of me so they had a much tougher schedule and much different hours than me. I was lucky if I got to spend one day a week with Harry and I almost never saw Naruto except in passing."

"Well, it was an intensive summer program, it was to be expected," said Molly thoughtfully as she thought back on the little information that Dumbledore had provided her, "Did you learn much?"

"So much mum, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," said Ginny with a smile. She had learned a lot.

"What did you learn?" asked Molly interestedly. She knew it was an intensive magical program that would take place every summer and for at least a year after she graduated from Hogwarts but she wasn't sure on what Ginny was actually learning.

"Well, it's a very unusual program mind," said Ginny, "I didn't actually learn any new spells and I didn't get to use my wand at all this entire summer."

"No wand?" questioned Molly loudly, "What kind of magical school doesn't require wands? If this is the kind of . . ."

Ginny managed to cut her off before the rant could really get going, "Mum, I didn't need a wand. This was almost all magical theory. It was about learning how magic is created and manipulated. It was extraordinary."

Molly saw the happy glint in her daughters eyes and let her rant die, "So what did you learn about magic?"

"Well," said Ginny thinking about where to start, "Okay, so everyone has a certain amount of magic in them, even muggles. However, not everyone has enough magic in them to use it. And there are some people that have extraordinary amounts of magic which allows them to become quite powerful."

"Like Professor Dumbledore?" asked Molly.

"Exactly . . . except that . . . well . . . Professor Dumbledore isn't really that powerful when compared to some," said Ginny unsure of how her mother would react.

"Then why is considered so powerful?" asked Molly trying to give her daughter the benefit of the doubt.

"Don't get me wrong, he is really powerful. But this summer, I met a few people who were so much more powerful than him. On the other hand that was just in sheer power, they didn't necessarily have the same control over magic that Professor Dumbledore does, which is also part of why Professor Dumbledore is so powerful," explained Ginny. She was slightly nervous to tell her mother exactly how much she had learned.

"Oh really," said Molly finding it truly interesting. "Can you tell me who you've met that was more powerful?"

"Well Harry and Naruto both are," said Ginny with a smile, "But they don't have near the experience or control that Professor Dumbledore does. Give them a few years and they will be far beyond him."

Molly was slightly surprised by this news. On some level she always thought that Harry had to be powerful, perhaps more so than Dumbledore as he was able to kill Voldemort when he was just a baby. But to have it confirmed by her daughter was a lot to take in.

"I might even be more powerful than Professor Dumbledore too," said Ginny excitedly, "But that is a really, really long way away."

"Ginny dear," said Molly with a concerned smile, "Are you certain that is a wise thing?" She was afraid of someone using Ginny because she would become so powerful.

"Very certain," said Ginny, "That was one of the other things I learned a lot about this summer. Self-Defense without a wand."

"You mean muggle fighting?" asked Molly about ready to go into an uproar.

"A little bit," said Ginny honestly. "I spent more time learning to use the magic in my body without a wand to defend myself."

"What do you mean?" asked Molly entirely confused by her last statement.

"Well, magic is kind of a fluid thing. Once you learn to sense the magic inside yourself you can learn to move it about and make it do certain things."

"Like what? And what do you mean sense magic?" asked Molly forgetting her concern with the fact that her daughter was being taught how to fight.

"You can use the magic inside of you to make you faster or stronger," said Ginny with a grin, "It's really cool. And yes, I've learned to sense the magic around me. However, this school has so much magic in it that my senses are really messed up. Harry warned me about it though. He said I should be able to sort it all out in a few weeks."

"My word," said Molly, "You learned all of that this summer?"

"I've just barely started learning it mum," said Ginny with a smile at her baffled mother, "There is still so much more I need to learn."

"I don't know what to say Ginny," said Molly, "It sounds as if you've had an incredible summer."

"Oh it was spectacular right up until that last week," said Ginny with a sad frown.

"Oh, not to worry dear," said Molly, "I won't stop you from going back next summer. We won't let one bad apple spoil the bunch."

"Thank you mum," said Ginny hugging her mother tightly. Not paying much attention she didn't realize that she'd lifted her mother off the ground.

"Genevra Molly Weasley," said Molly in surprise, "Put me down this instant."

Ginny set her mother back on the ground and stepped back blushing, "Sorry mum, still learning to control that."

"You'll definitely be going back next summer now. I'll not have my daughter ripping doors from their hinges just because she can't completely control her strength," said Molly in a huff.

"If they have me back," said Ginny, "This incident really seems to have spooked the board of governors. There was talk just before we left of them cutting their numbers."

"Then I suppose we shall just have to wait and see," said Molly with a reassuring smile to her daughter. Molly was very impressed with Ginny's knowledge but that made here wonder about other things that she hadn't bothered to ask before. "Ginny dear, how is it that you were accepted? Did you apply or did they find you?"

"Well," Ginny almost panicked. She hadn't considered her mother asking the question. _Blame Naruto!_ Screamed through her head. "Naruto mentioned it once and I thought it would be very interesting so I asked more about it and he got me the information. I was very lucky to win that scholarship."

"So you applied for the scholarship?" asked Molly.

"After Naruto told me about it. It's all his fault really," explained Ginny, "Before his father died he was headmaster of the Academy. That's why Naruto and Harry have been going there since they were very little."

"Very little?" questioned Molly, "How long have they been attending?"

"Since they were five and six," said Ginny cringing at letting out too much information.

"My word," said Molly, "No wonder you say they are more powerful than Dumbledore. How many students would you say attend this school?"

"Maybe twenty," said Ginny, "It's very exclusive and they only take a handful of students ever. Of the twenty only maybe 11 or 12 attend year round. There are usually only 3 or 4 students to one dedicated instructor. Anko is the instructor for Harry, Naruto, Shikamaru and now me too."

"Ginny," said Molly, "I had no idea. Professor Dumbledore had only explained a small fraction of it to me. I'm so proud of you." Molly then enveloped Ginny in her own bone crushing hug.

"Thank you mum," said Ginny returning the hug. After the whole incident with the Chamber of Secrets she had believed that no one would ever be proud of her again.

**BREAK**

Harry chuckled. Then he broke out into full blown laughter.

"I fail to see what is so funny about this Harry? It is a rather serious business," said Dumbledore with a slight frown.

"Oh, I'm not laughing at that," said Harry, "I'm laughing because that there basically said that I can't die unless Voldemort does the killing."

"Harry that is not quite . . ."

"Accurate?" asked Harry, "The prophecy says that one of us has to kill the other thereby excluding all others until such time as one of us is dead by the other's hand."

"Harry, you not listening," said Albus exasperated by the boy.

"I'm listening just fine you senile old coot," said Harry having grown tired of the discussion, "Now listen to me carefully. I will kill Voldemort, of that you can be certain. But you'll not hinder me in any of my actions from now on. Konoha is my home and I will do everything in my power to defend it. Now, I'm rather exhausted. Good night."

Albus could only stare as Harry left the office. "Damn prophecy," he complained.

"Should have known Harry would react that way," said voice emerging from the shadows.

"Anko," said Dumbledore in absolute surprise.

"You'd do well to listen to that boy," said Anko, "He's suddenly without his only family for the first time in his life. His patience right now is shot and worse he is extremely worried about home."

"Ms. Mitarashi, I assure that I only have Harry's best interests at heart," said Albus.

"I understand that you believe you are acting in his best interest. But if you push him right now he is likely to step away from you and you may not be able to get him back again. So, I'll give you this one and only bit of advice. Let him figure things out for himself and come to you if he chooses. Good night old fart." Anko sank back into the shadows from which she emerged leaving behind a very baffled headmaster.

**BREAK**

"Oi," shouted a rather loud blonde, "Where the hell are we going Ero-Sennin?"

"Would you just shut up for a while brat?" asked Jiraiya as he nursed yet another hangover.

"But the village is that way you dumb-ass!" shouted Naruto pointing down the left path and not the right path that Jiraiya was stumbling down.

"Shout one more time and I'll swear to whatever god is listening that I will make it so you can never speak again," seethed an angry blonde woman with larger than above average assets.

"Bah, as if you could catch me when you're that hung-over?" said Naruto waving her threat off.

"Naruto-kun, you really shouldn't push at her when she's this bad," chided Shizune trying to hide her own want to giggle.

"Why the hell are you in such a rush anyway?" asked Tsunade as she massaged her temples.

"Damnit!" shouted Naruto causing both Jiraiya and Tsunade to cringe, "How many times do I have to explain this? As soon as we convinced you to become the new Hokage, I sent a messenger to Hogwarts to have some come to get me and Shikamaru on the 5th. It's now the 3rd and we're still nearly 2 and ½ days away from the village at the rate you old people are traveling. We need to hurry or I'll miss my ride."

"If nothing else, he'll be out of your hair for a while," said Jiraiya to Tsunade in a conspiratorial manner.

Tsunade finally just shrugged and trudged along after the little brat that seemed to finally be able to tame the cursed necklace she'd worn for so long. She'd never be able to thank the brat enough but she'd be damned if she ever told him that to his face.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, we'll make much better time tomorrow," said Shizune, "Once they're sober they are actually quite fast."


	21. Chapter 21

I don't Harry Potter or Naruto, damn the rotten luck.

"Tell me something kid," said Jiraiya to the impatient kid that was currently pacing the floor of the inn in which they were staying for the night, "What kind of techniques to you like?"

"Kick ass techniques, duh," said Naruto impatiently, "Why are we stopping, there is still time to travel?"

"We need to rest, we'll make it back to the village in plenty of time tomorrow, now let's try this again. What kind of technique do you like?"

"Well . . ." said Naruto thinking, "I like Ninjutsu like that Rasengan you taught me."

"Hmmm, what about elements?" asked Jiraiya studying the boy. It was true that it was much too early in his career to start learning something as advanced as changing the nature of his chakra but if he could give him a head start then he would do it.

"Hmmm," contemplated Naruto considering all the different Ninjutsu he used. Fire was fun but he usually struggled with it. Earth was really useful and he didn't struggle too much with it but it was mostly defensive. Water was like Earth in that it was mostly just used in defense or even a bit in healing though very rarely. Lightning was cool but he'd had something of a dislike of it from all the times he'd been zapped by Harry with it. Wind was really easy to use and he loved the mass destruction he could cause with it. "Wind, I love the havoc I can cause with it."

"It is fun to blow up women's skirts with it," said Jiraiya daydreaming for a moment before he was brought back to reality by Naruto's fist meeting with the back of his head.

"Ero-sensei," hissed Naruto getting annoyed once again by Jiraiya's lecherous ways.

"Che," complained Jiraiya, "Stupid gaki never let's me have my fun."

"Why do you want to know anyway?" asked Naruto.

"Know what?" asked Jiraiya completely forgetting his earlier questions.

"Which element I like and that other crap," said Naruto getting annoyed again.

"Oh, right, almost forgot about that," said Jiraiya, "Well, seeing as we're just wasting time by not traveling I thought you might like to do a bit of training. I don't think there is enough time to teach you any new techniques but I just might be able to teach you something . . . rare."

This had Naruto raising an eyebrow, "Alright, I'm listening."

"Come with me then," said Jiraiya guiding the brat out of the hotel and into the outskirts of the village.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Naruto excitedly after he helped Jiraiya set up a few small fires to light the area around them. He failed to notice that Jiraiya had set up the fires in very specific locations.

"Come stand here," said Jiraiya pointing at the ground in front of him.

Naruto followed orders though he wasn't sure what the pervert was up to.

"Now, Kata Sho," said Jiraiya as he back away from his sometimes-pupil.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

"I want you to do Kata Sho of the Kazama-Do," said Jiraiya with a smirk.

"What the hell does this have to do with anything?" asked Naruto impatiently.

"Trust me brat, just do it," said Jiraiya.

Naruto frowned but he did it anyway. He'd only gone six moves in when Jiraiya told him to start over.

"What? Why?" demanded Naruto, "I was doing it just fine."

"Just Fine' is not Good and 'Good' is not Great and 'Great' is not Perfect, now start over and do it right," said Jiraiya.

Naruto grumbled and mumbled several curses towards his teacher but complied all the same. This time Naruto's moves were perfect, they were fast and they were crisp and yet again he was stopped by the sixth move.

"Damnit, I know it was perfect that time. What the hell do you want from me now?"

"It was perfect, but not for this exercise," said Jiraiya knowing full well that he was really beginning to piss off the boy before him.

"Then what the hell do you want me to do?" yelled Naruto angrily.

"Back to first position," said Jiraiya with a slight smirk that he just knew the boy was longing to wipe off his face permanently. "Now, bring your hands together in front of you as if to pray."

Naruto looked at the old man as if he were crazy.

"Just do it," said Jiraiya ignoring the look, "Good, now close your eyes."

Naruto growled but did so.

"I want you to breathe deeply now, deep calming breaths. Breath in . . . breath out . . . breath in . . . breath out . . . breath in . . . breath out . . . breath in . . . breath out . . . breath in . . . breath out . . ." Jiraiya made the boy do this for a good minute or two.

"Good, now that you are much more relaxed we can begin," said Jiraiya before he adopted a sage like voice, "The wind has the power to cut through anything. It will breakdown mountains with enough time. And yet the wind will bend and weave in and around anything in its path as well. You need to learn to move like a leaf on the wind. Let it carry your movements and become as if it is part of you. This is the wind and you must become one with it. Now, I want you to start your Kata Sho again, but this time, I want every move to carry as if on the wind, I want to you do so slowly and deliberately and most importantly I want you to keep your eyes closed. Now concentrate on being one with the wind. Begin!"

Naruto felt the power in Jiraiya's words and did as he was told. He concentrated on being the wind. He concentrated so hard on moving as it he were part of the wind.

Unknown to him Jiraiya smiled sneakily as he watched Naruto move. Every move near a fire would cause the fire to jump slightly as if enticed by the wind. As he progressed the fire began to jump a bit higher but only in the slightest bit. It would be a very long time before Naruto would really and truly understand just what it was he'd begun that day.

**BREAK**

There were very few times in his life that Albus Dumbledore was ever truly afraid. The first time he kissed a girl when he was just a young man of 15, but then again any man would have been afraid to kiss Maud Floretta Jerkins and her rather unsightly lip fungus. He still shivered to this day when ever he remembered that lip fungus. The second time he was truly afraid was just before the final battle with Grindewald. The third and forth time came when he dueled Voldemort personally. And then there was this moment.

He was going to be meeting with the new Hokage. A person who was entirely capable of killing without a single feeling of remorse and conceivably, even more dangerous and psychotic that Voldemort himself. Yes, Albus Dumbledore was scared.

"Albus get control of yourself this instant," ordered his rather strict deputy headmistress, "If you go in there shaking the way that you are now you'll no doubt be killed for showing such fear."

Albus took several deep breathes schooling himself to get control of himself. After a few moments his hands finally stopped shaking. It was then he grabbed the garbage can and emptied the contents of his recently eaten lunch.

"There now, are you feeling better? Calmer perhaps?" asked Minerva severely, "Honestly, they have invited you, I very much doubt they are just going to invite you in only to kill you."

"But Minerva, that is exactly what they do," said Albus, "The point of their profession is that you don't know you're dead until it is too late. This new Hokage could very well decide to cancel the mission and have the remaining shinobi execute the entire populous of the school without a second thought and they would no doubt follow orders. I am not so optimistic to think that this new leader will be in any way shape or form a kind and compassionate man like Sarutobi was. It is just not their way."

"Do you honestly believe that Harry would just suddenly turn and assist in killing off the entire school?"

"I want to believe that he would not," said Albus with a fond smile before a distant look over came him as he remembered back on how eager Harry was to end Severus' life at only eleven years old. "But I will not delude myself so completely. I believe that Harry will do whatever is necessary to kill Voldemort. I believe that he will do everything in his power to protect young Miss Weasley. But I do not believe for one second that he will not follow a direct order from his leader, no matter how dark or horrible it may be. You must always bear in mind Minerva that he is first and foremost a Shinobi before he is anything else."

Minerva lost a significant bit of color in her face as she reflected on those young children she'd grown so close to over the past years. Could they really have just been displaying a façade to put her and their peers at ease around them? If that were so, then just how cold blooded could those children truly be? Just the thought of it made her feel dizzy and nauseous. She quickly sat in one of the arm chairs in the hopes of calming herself and not joining Albus in vomiting in the trash.

"Now, I must go, it would not be prudent to be late to our appointment," said Albus taking hold of a marble from a dish on his desk and tapping it with his wand causing the tiny glass ball to glow blue for a moment.

Albus landed with a soft step in the office. It did not look much different from when Sarutobi had the office, but then the new Hokage had barely been in place for more than a few hours. It was doubtful that the new Hokage had even been inaugurated to the position yet.

"Please have a seat, I'll be with you in a moment," said a very feminine and pleasant voice that sounded somewhat familiar to Albus.

Albus sat himself down feeling much more relaxed than only moments ago. Something about this woman put him at ease. It was then that he suddenly remembered where he was and sat up much straighter than before.

"You can relax, nothing is going to happen to you while you are still a paying client," said the woman with a hint of amusement in her voice.

Albus looked to the woman in surprise. He was certain that his Occlumency barriers were completely intact. He hadn't even felt the subtle pull of any illusions that the Shinobi frequently used.

"No, I'm not reading your mind," said the woman with an almost snort of laughter. She'd not even looked up at him from the file she was currently reading.

Albus decided to study this woman before him. Could she have been the new Hokage? Or was she just a secretary? Perhaps even a bodyguard? Or something more? Some tea would have been great at that moment while he pondered the woman before him.

The woman reached over and pushed a button on the intercom system of her desk, "Shizune, please bring us some tea."

At that Albus nearly jumped out of his skin. Something was not right. How was this woman able to read him so well with having said a word or even attempting to penetrate his mental barriers?

It was only a moment a later that a short brunette entered with a small tray with a small tea pot and a pair of cups. The woman poured the tea before leaving silently without saying a word.

Albus took the cup into his hands and as he was about to drink he paused. Could this have been poisoned?

"It's not poisoned. If we really wanted you dead you would be already. We're not going to waste expensive poison to kill you when there are much simpler and faster ways. You can test it if you wish," said the blonde woman taking her own cup and taking a short sip.

Albus took a deep breath and took a leap of faith and took a sip. It was a very pleasant tea. Different from anything he'd ever had in England, he found himself smiling slightly as he enjoyed the rather splendid tea.

"I'll have a box prepared for you to take with you when you leave," said the woman still not looking at him. In fact she was now scrutinizing the same file trying to find some sort of flaw or such thing.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Albus slightly confused.

"The tea," she replied as more of a murmur as she bit her lower lip as she read further into the same file.

Albus was very unsure how he should react. It was true that he would love to bring back some of the tea for himself. It was simply eerie how she was able to pick up on these things without even looking at him. Albus was unsure how long he sat or how many glasses of tea he drank as he waited on the blonde woman to speak but after a rather long wait she finally closed the fifth file folder and put it down on her desk before turning to face him.

"I apologize for the long wait but I had to fully review both the mission parameters and the personnel file on the Shinobi you currently employ. I only arrived about ten minutes before you so I had no time to review before your arrival," she began.

"Understandable," said Albus with a considerate nod, "If I may ask just to be certain, you are the new Hokage?"

The woman barked out a laugh, "That figures, the rotten brat," she continued to laugh merrily.

"Forgive me but I am at a bit of a loss, what is so humorous?" asked Albus cautiously.

"Naruto, he didn't tell you anything about me did he?"

"Only that you were 'scary strong' and 'easily angered'. He did not mention that you were a woman or . . . anything else really," said Albus.

The woman's eyebrow twitched, "When I get my hands on that little brat I'm going to beat him senseless," she growled out under her breath. "Sorry, I'll deal with Naruto later. I'm Tsunade. I'm the new Hokage. I was Sarutobi's student once upon a time."

Albus suddenly felt all of the tension he'd been feeling fade away. If she was half as kind as Sarutobi then she would be an excellent woman to know and hopefully a good friend.

"Yes, I think I shall have to have words with Naruto myself later," said Albus with a slight grumble. "He had me quite worried from his short missive."

"Yes, he shall definitely be dealt with later," said Tsunade, "Now, let's get down to business. You've employed a full Genin team for almost the last two years full time, or nearly so. I've reviewed the reports and it seems that this is a bit excessive for such low threat mission. I realized that should Voldemort ever regain a body that the need for such heavy guard will become necessary and probably much harder to integrate into the school without gaining too much notice beyond normal. I can also appreciate that you are provide these young children with an opportunity to learn a new skill that could be quite useful to them and to this village."

"So am I to understand that you will allow the . . . mission to continue as originally planned?" asked Albus curiously.

"Yes the mission will continue, however, I have some new requirements with regards to the fee. As I see it, I am sending Genin . . . Shinobi that are especially important to this village during this time as we try to recover from the attack. We need every shinobi we can get on active duty. According to the yearly report from Anko and her students there are some severe shortcomings that must be addressed. Harry is an outstanding student both as a shinobi and as a wizard. I see no need for a change in his program. Shikamaru has grown exceptionally as a shinobi, however as a wizard he is falling short. His test scores are almost as bad as Naruto's but his practical work is much better, especially in his charms work. Apparently it appeals to his lazy nature and has become something of an enabling crutch. I want his test scores to rise to within the top tenth percentile or he will be removed and replaced with a fresh Genin that will take this a bit more seriously. And then there is Naruto." Tsunade paused to reach into her drawer and pull out a small white bottle and add a little of the liquid inside to her tea. She offered some to Albus but he kindly rejected the offer. She sat silently as she sipped on her tea for a while before turning her chair to look out over the village.

"Am I to assume there is a problem with Naruto?" asked Albus.

"Several glaring problems," said Tsunade with a heavy sigh. "The top most of which is simply that he is by far the most advanced Shinobi in his age group. That is what took me so long with the files, his was the first file and the absolute longest file I've ever seen. His academy scores were passable but mostly because Harry had helped him every step of the way. His written test scores placed him as dead last academically and I've seen the same trend continue with his score's at Hogwarts. However, his practical shinobi skills are so far advanced of any of his cohort that I have little doubt that he could probably become a Jounin himself within the next year or two with intensive training. Training that has been offered by a Kage level shinobi that has only ever had one student, Naruto's father. So you can imagine my hesitation. His strength and stamina when matched off with his speed make him the perfect shinobi weapon with one big problem, he lacks knowledge and experience. He suffers from an extreme lack of text book knowledge and history and he seems to have no drive to learn it."

Albus sat back in deep thought, "You don't believe he is benefiting any by being at Hogwarts." It wasn't a question.

"He is and he isn't. He's able to train almost full time but he isn't getting any experience in shinobi mission and protocol. This is something that Anko will begin to drill them on more and more over the next year. Hopefully this will help with his operational awareness. The biggest benefit is that it gives him time away from the village without the hateful glares of the villagers that only see the Kyubi and not him. This could also be a problem if he were to suddenly decide that he no longer wished to return. This village has already invested millions of Ryo on the boy's education and training. If he were to choose to leave, the village would recoup its losses one way or another and there would be nothing I could do to protect him at that point in time."

"So you still intend to send him back to Hogwarts, or at least I assume so based on your opening statement," said Albus.

"This will be his last chance. If he does not raise his course work to at least within the top twentieth percentile both practical and academic then he will be permanently returned to the village for strictly Shinobi only training. I've already made this perfectly clear to him. In addition though, I've given him all of the Konoha history and diplomatic policy along with the long version of the shinobi code. He will have completely learned this material by the time he returns next summer or once again, he will be pulled and made to learn it here under the tutelage of Morino Ibiki and believe me when I say that is not something you or anyone for that matter will ever want to experience. I will leave it up to you how he learns it but he will learn it. If he plans to be the next Hokage then he will need to know that information inside and out with absolute perfection. Any questions?" asked Tsunade finally turning back to the old man.

Albus was a bit lost in thought. He'd basically been told, though not directly, that Naruto was to be groomed to be the next Hokage. "Naruto must have made one hell of an impression on you."

Tsunade smiled, "You could say that. Oh, and one more thing, Naruto has been instructed that he is not allowed to ask for help with this and I would ask that you not volunteer the help to him. This is a test . . . a test to prove that he really and truly wants to become the next Hokage."

"I understand, I will do what I can to encourage him but I believe that he will be more than driven enough to accomplish the task on his own. Is there anything else or may I collect my errant students and depart?"

This time Tsunade smirked, "Oh, just one more little thing . . ."

**BREAK**

"Naruto-kun," mumbled a soft voice disturbing the boy from his frantic packing of his room.

"Eh?" he said a he looked over his shoulder to find the ever shy and nervous Hinata waiting on him. "Oh, hi there Hinata-chan."

"Hello," she stuttered out. She'd not spoken to him since she woke up in the Hospital next to him almost two months ago. Lucky for her she was able to sneak away without anyone catching her. She was also very lucky that her father had not caught her or checked up on her during the night or she just knew she'd have been disowned.

"How have things been while I was away?" asked Naruto as he returned to his frantic packing.

"Busy," she answered nervously, "Ano . . . father wishes to see you before you go."

"Whatever, he can wait until I've finished packing," said Naruto as just continued on with task.

Hinata was appalled. No one ever kept Hyuga Hiashi waiting. "But Naruto-kun, he will be angry if you do not come now," she barely managed to stutter out. She wanted to protect him from her father's wrath. She didn't want to lose him.

"So what?" asked Naruto continuing with his packing, "If he gets angry from being made to wait ten minutes then he seriously needs to work on his patience." Naruto chuckled a little pausing in his packing, "Not that I'm really one to speak I guess eh Hinata-chan?"

Hinata was stunned. Naruto thought it was funny. She was worried for his well-being and he thought it was funny. "Naruto-kun," she nearly yelled, "Let's go now, I will help you pack after."

Naruto stopped packing and looked at Hinata sharply causing her to recoil in. She was shocked by what she just said. She just knew that it would make Naruto hate her.

"Okay, fine," said Naruto dropping the items in his arms to clatter to the floor messily, "You win, we'll go see your father now."

Hinata paled once more. Naruto was listening to her. She yelled, and he listened. It couldn't possibly have been true.

Naruto walked out of the room, "So where is the old man?"

Hinata jumped in surprise, she was not paying attention, "Ano . . . he's in the tea room."

"Great," said Naruto with a smile, "Let's go."

Hinata walked along silently next to Naruto. She was feeling so very curious as to why he listened to her when he never listened to anyone but Harry, his sensei Anko, or the Hokage and even that was questionable. "Ano . . . Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah," said Naruto looking at Hinata.

"Ano . . . why . . . why did you listen to me back there?"

Naruto laughed a little, "Because you spoke up. You always stutter around me and everyone else. So I figured that since you spoke up it must have been important."

"Oh," said Hinata in surprise.

"Now let's go," said Naruto taking Hinata's hand without even thinking about it.

Hinata blushed furiously when Naruto took her hand but somehow she managed not to faint. It would not do well to faint now that she was finally getting closer to her future husband. Instead she smiled shyly and pulled herself a little bit closer to her Naruto. She failed to notice the faint blush the graced Naruto's cheeks.

They arrived to find Hiashi waiting and patiently sipping tea. He almost seemed surprised to see them.

"I must say, I was expecting you to take a bit longer," said Hiashi as he motioned for them to sit before the empty tea cups.

"Well, Hinata can be persuasive when she wants to be," said Naruto with a slight grin.

Hiashi suppressed his smirk at that and instead preceded with his reasons for summoning him, "I've asked you here because I understand you are to rejoin your teammate and instructor for your mission. I have also been informed that you have been given some very harsh terms that will dictate your ability to continue with said mission. Is this correct?"

"Yeah, what's your point?" asked Naruto not liking the look on Hiashi's face in the slightest.

"Well, it has occurred to me that you still need numerous etiquette lessons and you have yet to study any of the Hyuga family history. While you might not be joining this family you will still be a part of it. As such, I have spoken to the Hokage and she fully agrees with me that these lessons will be essential for your future," said Hiashi with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth. He was really enjoying the look on Naruto's face at that moment. He couldn't wait to let out the next surprise.

"You bastard," mumbled Naruto, "So let me guess, I now have to learn all of that as well?"

"Indeed, but you will not have to be perfect by the end of the year cycle. This will be ongoing for the next several years," said Hiashi calmly just waiting for the right moment.

"And who exactly is going to teach me. I don't know if you're aware of this but Anko-Sensei isn't exactly polite, well-mannered or cultured in the slightest."

At that Hiashi smiled and gave a small look to Naruto's left before looking the boy in the eye again and simply relishing in the gob smacked look on Naruto's face.

"NO!" shouted Naruto standing up and pointing a finger at him, "NO WAY! NOT HAPPENING!"

"Hinata will be joining you at your school once a month for lessons. You will also be required to correspond with her by letter every week without fail. She will be assisting you with your history and etiquette lessons as such. And before you even bother arguing Tsunade-sama has already approved."

"YOU!" Naruto shouted pointing a finger at the man but he couldn't think of anything grand enough to call the man at that moment. Instead he settled for growling at the man and turning and storming away from them both.

"Hinata, you'd best go after your future husband and calm him down. You don't need any undue stress or tension between the two of you when you go to see him in two weeks."

With that Hinata scurried out of the room to find her Naruto-kun.

**BREAK**

With a sudden tug Naruto and Shikamaru were off.

"So troublesome," complained Shikamaru upon landing in the Headmaster's office.

"Quit your bitching Shikamaru," said an icy voice that sent chills down both of their spines.

"Anko-sensei," said Naruto with a false cheerfulness, "How nice to see you again!" While under his breath he added "you crazy homicidal psychotic bitch."

Anko only twitched slightly telling Naruto that she heard him loud and clear much to his displeasure. "Orders?"

Shikamaru sighed as he and Naruto handed over their orders to her.

"Welcome back to team hell, it's been rather boring without the both of you to torture . . . not that Harry and Ginny haven't made for sufficient entertainment."

"Where is he anyway?" asked Naruto. He was expecting him to be here to greet him.

"Class you dolt," said Anko with her favorite sadistic grin adorning her face.

"Class shall be let out for lunch shortly, you are both welcome to meet them in the Great Hall," imposed Dumbledore before Anko could do anything too sadistic. As it was he received a glare that nearly made him wet himself from the woman just for ruining her fun.

"Great," said Naruto, "Unlimited Ramen, here I come baby!"

"So troublesome," complained Shikamaru as he lazily followed the hyperactive boy through the hall. If one looked close enough you could see the corner of Shikamaru's lips upturned in a very slight smile of fondness.

Naruto only had two objectives for that day: Eat as much free ramen as possible and kick Harry's ass. So far his first objective was going well as he dug into his seventh bowl of Ramen.

His second objective was about to come to fruition as well except that he didn't know it. Naruto was completely jarred from his eating when a fist came into contact with his face sending him crashing along the bench and across the stone floor after he ran out of bench to slide along.

"Jerk!" shouted the all too familiar voice of Naruto's one and only cousin, "What the hell took you so long?"

Naruto looked up from the floor to see his smiling cousin, "You know I'm going to have to kick your ass for that later?"

"We'll see who kicks whose ass?" retorted Harry with a grin as held out a hand to help Naruto up off the floor.

Naruto took the hand to pull himself up. It was much to Harry's surprise when Naruto kept going up into the air bringing his knee to meet Harry's chin rather painfully.

Harry sprawled on the floor after the knee to his chin. And yet despite the paid he was in from the hit he was still grinning.

"Welcome back," said Harry sitting up and standing on his own this time lest Naruto get another cheap shot on him.

"Good to be back," said Naruto with a grin.

"Boys!" said Hermione in disbelief.

"So troublesome," complain Shikamaru before he found his head pushed forward into his own bowl of ramen noodles.


End file.
